Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that the insecurity situation in Nigeria has festered to the extent that Boko Haram, banditry, and kidnapping are now mixed, making it difficult to tackle.
Obasanjo, who spoke on Friday as the Chairman at the launch of ‘Scars: Nigeria’s journey so far and Boko Haram Conundrum’, a book by former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor (rtd.), in Abuja, explained that Boko Haram emerged not as a group interested in either political power or serious issues.
According to him, all the insurgent group wanted was a better life and anything associated with it.
“I found, yes, there was Boko Haram. I found they were not really aiming for anything political or anything seriously religious. But in short, they were looking for a better life. And any other thing attached to that is a better life for them,” he said.
The former Nigerian head of state and two-term civilian president questioned steps taken by Nigeria as a nation in addressing the challenges, adding that if the country had taken the right steps, Boko Haram would not have been a part of its daily life.
“Have we understood that? If we have, have we taken the steps that we should take? If we have, why are we, after fifteen years, Boko Haram is not virtually becoming part of our life? Should we accept that? If we should not accept, what should we do? How much do we know?” He asked.
Obasanjo further questioned the country’s proactiveness in dealing with the insurgency problem, which he said is becoming a monster within the country.
“I think we have to ask ourselves the necessary questions to be able to deal with this thing that is now becoming a monster within our country,” he added.
Continuing, Obasanjo said he agreed to write the foreword for the book authored by Irabor because he believes Nigeria needs to retrace its steps and ask questions from the past to be able to deal with the situation at hand and the future.
While praising Irabor for insisting on bringing him to Abuja as the chairman of the launch after the foreword, the former president added that he believed Irabor has, through the book, examined the past with courage.
“I want to thank you again, as I have said, for the courage, because you need the courage to write the type of book you are forgetting.
“And I also see and you mentioned it in the video that we saw that interrogation will be a strong word, but that word you use. Shouldn’t we examine our past?
What is in our past that is becoming debilitating, destructive to our present and obviously to us? I believe that is what you have tried to do in your book.
“There’s normally the tendency. Don’t talk about it. Let’s leave it. And I believe that we must get out of that culture. Let us say it as it is.
“The history, the life of any nation, any family, any institution has the good, the bad, and the ugly. What is important? And now, mister, master of ceremony and mistress of ceremony made that point: let us have it. Let us look at it, and let us think about it. And when we have to find a solution, we may even look beyond what we can see. Let us think beyond what is available. And I think that is what you have done here.”
Obasanjo added by urging anyone with information on how Nigeria can permanently address the problem of insecurity to also speak up, just like the former CDS.
“And I will urge and appeal that those who have things to say about this particular issue of Boko Haram, we don’t even know where Boko Haram stops and banditry starts, and kidnapping begins. They are all mixed together. We can’t go on this way. Surely, we can’t. Something must be done.
“And the beginning of something being done is the book, ‘Scars: Nigeria’s journey and the Boko Haram conundrum.’ I hope and I appeal that those who have things to say, who know things that we should know, come up.
“Even those who have been on the other side, who have been part or supporter of Boko Haram for whatever Boko Haram is, let them write. Let them speak up.
“And that way, we will be able to find solutions to the problem, which cannot continue to go on without bringing it to an end,” the former President remarked.
The event had in attendance other prominent Nigerians, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by Minister of Defense, Abubakar Bagudu; Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar; Bishop Hassan Kukah, among others
