Former Information and Culture Minister Jerry Gana has made serious allegations linking the escalation of Nigeria’s security challenges to electoral activities during the 2015 presidential campaign.
In a television interview on TVC TV from 25:25, Gana made controversial claims about the origins of the country’s current banditry crisis while defending the Jonathan administration’s handling of security issues.
The former minister distinguished between his administration’s approach to existing security challenges and what he characterized as external interference during the 2015 electoral period.
“We didn’t create it (Boko Haram), and we dealt with it. It snowballed because under the campaigns in 2015, some people made a terrible mistake in bringing bandits into Nigeria for electoral purposes,” Gana alleged during the interview.
According to the former minister, then-President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to concede the 2015 election prevented a potential national crisis.
“But President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was wise enough that his political ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian. That was a very wise thing, and now he’s going to harvest from it, by the grace of God,” Gana stated.
The former minister praised Jonathan’s restraint, suggesting it prevented national fragmentation.
“Nigerians respect him for it because if we had followed through, this country would have gone to pieces. We know it,” he explained.
Gana then made specific allegations against prominent political figures, claiming they were responsible for importing security threats during the 2015 campaign period.
“Buhari and El-Rufai, they brought in people (bandits) to come and conquer us,” the former minister alleged.
He concluded by questioning the human cost of the country’s ongoing security challenges, particularly in northern regions.
“Do you know the number of people in Nigeria who have died since then, especially in northern areas?” Gana asked.
The allegations represent some of the most serious claims made by a former government official regarding the origins of Nigeria’s current security crisis, though they have not been independently verified or responded to by the named individuals.
