Insecurity: Nigeria Free To Seek Help From Outside – Obasanjo

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to track down and deal decisively with the bandits who are terrorising the nation, adding that if the current administration fails in this duty, Nigerians have every right to request assistance from outside the country.

The ex-President made these remarks on Friday, November 28, while delivering a speech at the Plateau Unity Christmas and Praise Festival.

He pointed out that Nigerians from all regions and religious backgrounds are being slaughtered, yet the government appears unable to safeguard its people, branding the ongoing killings as “nonsensical.”

“We are part of the world community. If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community to do for us what our government cannot do for us. If we are being k!lled, it is the responsibility of the government to do something about it.

We should ask the government to do what it has to do at all levels. We should ask our leaders to do what they have to do at all levels, in all walks of life,” he said.

Going further, Obasanjo emphasised that the world has progressed to a point where no criminal can commit an offence and escape justice by simply going into hiding.

“In these days of technology, there should be nobody hiding anywhere after he has committed a crime that cannot be seen with the present-day satellite,” he added.

Looking back at his own tenure as President of Nigeria, Obasanjo observed that the availability of drones today has simplified the process of apprehending anyone anywhere, which was not the case during his administration.

He went on to question the logic of the government engaging in talks and making payments to criminals.

“Before I left government, I knew we had the capacity to pick up anybody in Nigeria. The capacity we didn’t have then was that, after we had identified and located such a criminal, we didn’t have the capacity to pick him up without moving on land or by air. Now we have the capacity with drones. You can take them out. Why are we not doing that? Why are we negotiating? And after government has paid these criminals, government denies!

We should appeal to our government to do what needs to be done to stop Nigerians being killed.

We are tired of being killed, and we want the killing of Nigerians, whether they are Christians or Muslims or pagans, they are Nigerians, and the life of every Nigerian matters. It should stop,” he stressed.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli