Pascal Oparada
An aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri has challenged Spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu to pass a night in Zamfara or Borno states without security to prove Buhari has improved on security in Nigeria.
Omokri offered to pay Shehu $20,000 if he takes up the challenge.
Omokri said the money would be given to Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation Magazine and verified by an independent journalist.
“Garba Shehu said General @MBuhari has made Nigeria safer. I vow to pay @GarShehu $20000 if he will spend a night without security in Koshobe, or Kware, verified by an independent journalist. I will give the funds to @DeleMomodu when Garba accepts to go.
Retweet so Garba sees this,” Omokri said.
In his response, Shehu rejected the challenge, saying if it is the money Omokri made from campaigning for the release of Leah Sharibu, the Christian girl kidnapped by Boko Haram, he won’t accept it.
“If this is the money from the collections made in the name of Leah Sharibu, the unfortunate Christian girl stolen by Boko Haram, I won’t touch it with a long. Please keep “your USD20000,” Shehu said.
The challenge has drawn a widespread response from Momodu and Senator Shehu Sani.
Sani asked if Garba Shehu can sleep with the security provided by villages.
Dele Momdu asked Garba Shehu to take up the challenge since he is an ardent supporter of Buhari.
“As your umpire, I suggest our Brother @GarShehu takes up the challenge gratis as an avowed disciple of @MBuhari and call the bluff of @renoomokri and I will declare the winner asap…,” Momodu said.
However, Omokri denied taking money from campaigning for the release of Leah Sharibu, asking Garba Shehu and anyone to come up with proof.
The challenge has divided Nigerians. While many asked Garba Shehu to take up the challenge, others said Omokri is simply oblivious of the achievements of Buhari.
Shehu had said: “The Buhari administration has the will and has demonstrated unquestionable capacity to protect Nigerians. Those who doubt this Government’s resolve are mischievous. It is an administration empowered to draw enormous resilience from innate reservoirs of human resources, a network of reliable intelligence sources, and demonstrated expertise in scenario building and mediation.”
To prove that the claim was not the usual political sound bite, Omokri asked Shehu to pass a night in Kware, the den of Zamfara bandits or Koshobe, the scene of the massacre of more than 40 farmers in Borno state.