As the name implies, BBC’s Hardtalk is a show that invites high profile figures t face hard questions from cerebral show host, Stephen Sackur.
The latest victim of the hard tackling journalist was Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai.
The General was on the hot seat and when he left, he must have been regretting his decision to take on Sackur.
First off for Buratai was Boko Haram with the Army commander claiming that Boko Haram had been defeated. Sackur tore into this saying that Buratai’s assertion was ‘completely wrong’ also pointing out that there were 48 different attacks in the first six months of this year. Displaced people can’t return to their homes and “far from being completed”, Buratai’s “mission has barely begun”.
It didn’t end there for the poor General as he was grilled on arbitrary arrests by the army, the deaths of over 240 detainees at Giwa Barracks, alleged ghost workers in the Military and the reported exchange deals for the Chibok girls.
On the last point, Buratai initially stated that he could neither confirm or deny the allegations, but then latter tried to play up the merits of the exchange.
Buratai was then asked how much he earned in dollars, to which the general had no favourable answer to. This led to him being questioned about his properties in Dubai and how this would affect his troops on low pay. Buratai was out of answers.
So it was for the rest of the interview, with Buratai being hit left, right and center and being unable to do anything about it. By the end, the exhausted general had little or nothing to leave with.
It was a total defeat.
You can watch the interview below.