Poverty, unemployment fueling insurgency in Nigeria – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated the the security crisis in the Northeast has been largely fueled by unemployment and poverty.

The President, who spoke during an exclusive interview with a team of Arise Television Executives, led by its Chairman Prince Nduka Obaigbena, also confessed it has been extremely difficult fighting corruption under a democratic setting.

Buhari also said he believed the majority of the Boko Haram members are Nigerians after being told so by the Borno Governor Babagana Zulum.

According to him, his government has done a lot to fight the terrorists but the problem in the “North-East is very difficult.”

On the fight against corruption in the country, he emphasised that it had not been easy for him to fight corruption since he became a democratically elected President six years ago.

He, however, stressed that his administration had succeeded in easing out corrupt public officials without making noise about it.

Buhari recalled that much was achieved in the fight against corruption when he was military Head of State in the early 80s “when a lot of people were sent to prisons before I was also booted out”.

He expressed concerns that the local government system was almost non existent in the country as Governors have continued to starve them of funds saying “in a situation where N300 million is allocated to local government and they are given N100 million is not fair”.