Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has lamented the deadly activities of Boko Haram and herdsmen in the country.
According to him, the challenges have grown beyond what
Nigeria alone can tackle following the groups’ collaboration with the Islamic
State West African Province fighters.
Obasanjo said, “It is no longer an issue of a lack of
education and employment for our youths in Nigeria which it began as, it is now
West African Fulanisation, African islamisation and global organised crimes of
human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, illegal
mining and regime change.”
The ex-Head of State spoke on Saturday at the second session
of the seventh Synod of the Anglican Communion, Oleh Diocese, in the Isoko
South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Obasanjo, who delivered a paper titled, ‘Mobilising
Nigeria’s Human and Natural Resources for National Development and Stability’
at the event said,
“Every issue of insecurity must be taken seriously at all levels and
addressed at once without favouritism or cuddling. Both Boko Haram and herdsmen acts of violence
were not treated as they should at the beginning.
“They have both incubated and developed beyond what Nigeria
can handle alone. They are now combined and internationalised with ISIS in
control.
“We could have dealt
with both earlier and nip them in the bud, but Boko Haram boys were seen as
rascals not requiring any serious attention in administering holistic measures
of stick and carrot. And when we woke up
to the reality, it was turned to industry for all and sundry to supply
materials and equipment that were already outdated and that were not fit for
active military purpose.
“Soldiers were poorly trained for the unusual mission,
poorly equipped, poorly motivated, poorly led and made to engage in propaganda
rather than achieving results.
Intelligence was poor and governments embarked on games of denials while
paying ransoms which strengthened the insurgents and yet governments denied
payment of ransoms. Today, the security
issue has gone beyond the wit and capacity of Nigerian government or even West
African governments.”
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