By Tim Cocks
LAGOS (Reuters) - President Goodluck Jonathan opened his campaign to win a second elected term as Nigeria's leader on Thursday, defending his record on the Boko Haram insurgency and corruption to a rally of thousands in the opposition stronghold of Lagos.
Jonathan faces opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who was seen as tough on crime, militancy and graft, in a Feb. 14 election that is too close to call.
Buhari's campaign has drawn support from critics who say Jonathan is weak, that he has failed to deal with the Boko Haram insurgency which has killed thousands, and that corruption in the oil-rich nation has flourished under his watch.
Speaking to thousands of supporters waving Nigerian flags and posters of him, Jonathan blasted his opposition critics.
"They talk about insecurity, that they will fight insecurity...ask him when he was head of government did he buy one rifle for Nigerian soldiers? No. These people did not buy anything for the military," Jonathan said to loud cheers.
"They say the government is corrupt, that we are not fighting corruption," he continued. "We have arrested more people, we have done more convictions, but they tell us these lies."
Flanked by Vice President Namadi Sambo and Senate President David Mark, Jonathan wore a white robe and floppy traditional hat of the Yoruba people who dominate Lagos and the southwest, which comprises the main swing states.
Buhari is likely to win across the north, while Jonathan is expected to clean up in his home southern Niger Delta region and in the east.
Jonathan first took power in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, after his predecessor Umaru Yar'Adua died in office in 2009. He started his first elected term in 2011, when the southwest overwhelmingly voted for him over Buhari in 2011.
This time its political elites are firmly behind Buhari and some voters are disappointed with Jonathan.
His administration has been dogged by several corruption scandals in the oil sector, some of which it has promised to investigate and others it has denied.
The Boko Haram Islamist insurgency meanwhile has dramatically worsened since he was last elected in 2011.
Lack of equipment is one of the major problems faced by Nigerian troops in the northeast, which Jonathan blamed on Buhari. "No country equips armed forces overnight," he said.
JONATHAN DEFENDS RECORD
Buhari seized power in 1983. He is remembered as an iron-fisted ruler who executed armed robbers before he was ousted himself in 1985. He is believed not to have enriched himself, unlike some previous military rulers.
Nigerians cheered when decades of military rule under various leaders ended in 1999, but the Boko Haram menace has spurred a yearning among some for the return of a "strongman".
Boko Haram militants overan an army base in the remote northeast Nigerian town of Baga over the weekend, the latest in a string of victories. They have kidnapped hundreds of women and children, including 200 hundred girls from a secondary school in April who remain in captivity.
"They say the government is weak and unfocused," Jonathan said, giving a list of achievements of his government.
These included privatising the power sector -- widely seen as an important achievement -- shortening fuel queues, setting up 12 universities, and creating two million jobs annually, although he gave no details of the jobs.
The election, especially if close, could lead to regional tensions. If Buhari loses, the north is likely to see deadly violence as in 2011. If Jonathan does, the Niger Delta could see a return of the militancy that hurt oil production last decade.
(Editing by Julia Payne and Angus MacSwan)
