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Abuja (Nigeria) – Muhammadu Buhari has been sworn in for a second term as Nigeria’s president as he vowed to tackle security threats and root out corruption.
The 76-year-old leader was sworn in yesterday amid tight security in the Nigerian capital Abuja. He did not make a speech during the low-profile event attended by members of the diplomatic community.
Buhari, a former military ruler, won 56 percent of votes to defeat his main challenger and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the February election.
Heightened insecurity remains a major challenge for Buhari as his first term was marked by kidnappings, bandit attacks, cattle rustling and communal conflicts.
Babatunde Fashola, a former government minister, told Al Jazeera that while security issues remain a challenge, Buhari has been entrusted to resolve them.
“[Insecurity] was a campaign issue on which the president has been re-elected, which shows the people’s trust in his ability to solve the problem,” Fashola said.
Buhari’s home state of Katsina itself has witnessed an escalation in violence, with several villages raided by armed bandits, while the Boko Haram armed group continues to operate in the north east region.
Nnamdi Obasi, Nigeria researcher at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told Al Jazeera that persisting tensions in the northeast region could escalate into more violence.
“Boko Haram, now split into two factions, will continue its decade-long campaign to establish an Islamic state in the northeast, even as the herder-farmer violence has ebbed since the second half of 2018,” Obasi said.
– AP
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu