Mixed reactions
ranging from
commendation to
criticism,
yesterday, trailed
Sunday’s joint
declaration of
former
Presidents
Olusegun
Obasanjo and
Ibrahim
Babangida on the
state of
insecurity in the
country.
While regional
groups, including
the Arewa
Consultative
Forum and
Afenifere
welcomed the
intervention of
the two
elderstatesmen,
the intervention
received thumbs
down from
Ohanaeze which
flayed the duo
for failing to take
heed during their
separate
stewardships of
the country.
The Congress for
Progressive
Change, CPC, in
its reaction
dismissed the
intervention as
nothing new
even as it
affirmed that its
national leader,
Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari, himself a
former Head of
State, would not
team up with the
former rulers in
their campaign.
The CPC
spokesman, Engr.
Rotimi Fashekin
told Vanguard
yesterday that
Buhari had
already
categorized the
Boko Haram
insurgency as a
variant of three
forms with the
political variant,
allegedly
embedded within
the Goodluck
Jonathan
administration.
Former President
Obasanjo and
former military
President Ibrahim
Babangida had in
an
unprecedented
joint statement
on Sunday
appealed for
peace in the
country and
suggested a
strategic
engagement
with community
stakeholders
towards
resolving the
crisis.
Dialogue is the
answer — ACF
Welcoming the
joint plea of the
former rulers,
the ACF
spokesman,
Anthony Sani
said: “What we
have said is that
there is no where
in the world
where force has
ever worked on
terrorism. We
gave examples
of Iraq, Palestine,
Afghanistan and
we have given
example of
Somalia and we
came back home
and said
Yar`Adua used
force in 2009.
“It was against
that experience
that we said let
us try talking to
them and we
have been very
consistent on
that. We don’t
want to give it a
northern or
religious
colouration.
We support
their idea —
Afenifere
Afenifere leader,
Chief Reuben
Fasoronti while
welcoming the
intervention said:
“It is a bit late as
we had expected
it before now.
We were all
waiting for that
because they had
to speak. I had
once said the
leaders who
were supposed
to speak have
not done so
because the Boko
Haram is a
menace and we
cannot just look
on and watch. I
am sure that
people will
respect their
views and halt
these dastardly
things.”
They are
hypocritical —
Ohanaeze
Ohanaeze Ndigbo
on its part
described the
effort of the
two former
leaders as largely
hypocritical,
saying that the
dialogue they are
canvassing was
never allowed
during their
respective
tenures.
Engr. Ralph
Ndigwe, National
Publicity
Secretary of the
apex Igbo socio-
cultural
organisation told
Vanguard: “There
is nothing special
about Obasanjo
and Babangida
calling for
national dialogue
or constructive
engagement.
“When Obasanjo
was in
government for
eight years,
people were
clamouring for
national
conference. Odi
people reacted,
they went and
finished the
whole village,
ransacked every
where and killed
everybody
because they
killed one soldier.
Today, he is out
of government
and talking about
dialogue.
Babangida did the
same thing.
“Babangida and
Obasanjo are
senior members
of the Council of
States let them
go to the Council
of State and ask
the council to call
for dialogue; they
don’t have to
continue to
deceive us
through all these
paper talks”.
The CPC also
demurred, saying
that there was
nothing new in
the joint
statement from
the two former
leaders.
It said: “These
people have not
said anything
new, except we
want to be
economical with
the truth. Quite a
number of people
have said it in the
past ”
Insisting that the
situation
demands a
political solution,
he said the CPC
national leader
would not join
the refrain of the
two men, saying
that Buhari was
a marked man by
his critics who
would twist
anything he says
to suit their
political tunes.
“The
unfortunate
thing is that
there are many
people who are
waiting to hear
what Gen. Buhari
says and use it
for cheap political
points and that is
why the man has
often refrained
from making
statements
because he
knows that we
are not dealing
with sincere
people but we
are dealing with
very dishonest
people, the party
said.”
“Buhari is not like
one of the
normal Nigerian
people that are
ready to lie
through their
teeth. Buhari has
never believed
that getting
political power is
a do-or-die affair.
He behaves in
true service to
the Nigerian
people.”
Affirming that
Buhari would not
join the chorus of
the two former
leaders, he said:
“You don’t need
to expect a
statement from
him because he
has said Boko
Haram is in three
parts, Boko
Haram is in three
variants and one
of the variants is
the political
variant which the
Jonathan
government
represents.
He also said
there is the
original Boko
Haram formed by
Yusuf and that
original Boko
Haram is
disgruntled and is
seeking its pound
of flesh from the
Nigerian state for
killing its leader
extra-judicially
and then you
have the criminal
Boko Haram that
is involved in all
sorts of criminal
activities.”
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