The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has slammed London-based news magazine, The Economist, over an article it published concerning the insurgency in Nigeria.
The article titled, ‘Insurgency, Secessionism and Banditry Threaten Nigeria,’ accused the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), of ineptitude, while lambasting the Nigerian military, alleging that it often sold weapons to insurgents.
Mohammed, at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, described the article by the news magazine as inaccurate while pointing out that the media organisation was not infallible.
He said the claim by the news magazine that jihadists were carving out a caliphate in the North-East was wrong especially at a time when terrorists were surrendering in droves as a result of pounding by the military.
He said, “As you are very much aware, there have been various reactions to the stereotypical story on Nigeria by The Economist. So, we are not about to rehash what has been said about that publication. But before dwelling on the focus of this press briefing, let me make a quick observation.
“The Economist Group, of which The Economist magazine is an integral part, has been wrong about Nigeria before, just as it is wrong about Nigeria this time around. Recall, Gentlemen, that shortly before the 2019 general elections, The Economist Intelligence Unit, also from the stable of The Economist Group, predicted that the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, would win the election. Well, The Economist was wrong. President Muhammadu Buhari won re-election by over three million votes. So, The Economist and other arms of the group are not infallible.
