Former President Olusegun Obasanjo,
yesterday, blamed the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan for allowing
the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to grow into a monster that is now
uncontrollable by his failure to act on a report submitted to the
government.
The former president who spoke at a lecture
delivered by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi to mark the 40th anniversary of
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s call to ministry at the Word of Life Bible
Church, Warri in Delta State, also tasked Nigerians to choose between a
strong leader who might adopt unusual approach to tackle a problem or a
weak leader who will leave the problem to fester.
Answering a
question from a pastor from Borno State on how he could forge any form
of unity with those who are perpetuating violence in the northern part
of the country, Obasanjo went emotional, saying: “Boko Haram is an ill
wind that blows nobody no good.”
He proceeded to narrate his
experience when he went on a fact-finding mission to Borno State which
was regarded as the base of Boko Haram.
He said: “They (Boko
Haram) stated their grievances and I promised to relay them to the
authorities in power, because that was the best I could do. I did
report. But my fear at that time is still my fear till today. When you
have a sore and fail to attend to it quickly, it festers and grows to
become something else.
“Whichever way, you just have to attend to
it. Don’t leave it unattended to. On two occasions I had to attend to
the problem I faced at that time. I sent soldiers to a place and 19 of
them were killed. If I had been allowed that to continue, I will not
have authority to send security whether police, soldier and any force
any where again. So, I had to nip it in the bud and that was the end of
that particular problem,” he said.
He was, however, careful to
admit that all problems might not require that kind of treatment.
According to him, “if you say you don’t want a strong leader who can
have all characteristics of leaders including God fearing, then have a
weak leader and the rest of the problem is yours.”
He argued that
“the beauty of democracy is that power rests in the people, and every
elected person would seek your votes to come back; if you don’t want
him, he won’t come back. He noted that people had been saying that he
brought President Goodluck Jonathan but what they have failed to admit
is that he didn’t give all the votes that brought the man to power.
The
erstwhile president therefore charged Nigerians to stand up and take
their destinies in their own hands, reminding them of a Yoruba adage,
“if you say it the way it is, you will die; if you don’t say anything at
all, you will die, why don’t you say it and die?”
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