Insecurity: Nigeria free to seek help from outside – Obasanjo
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take decisive action against bandits terrorising the country, warning that if the government fails, Nigerians have the right to seek international assistance.
Obasanjo made the remarks on Friday, November 28, while speaking at the Plateau Unity Christmas and Praise Festival.
He lamented that Nigerians across regions and religions continue to lose their lives while the government appears unable to protect them, describing the ongoing killings as “nonsensical.”
“We are part of the global 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 killed, it is the responsibility of the government to act,” he said.
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
Continuing, Obasanjo stated that the world is advanced enough for anyone to hide and go scot-free after committing a crime.
“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.
Recalling his time as Nigeria’s President, Obasanjo said the opportunity of using drones now has made it easy for anyone to be picked up anywhere, unlike his time.
He further added by questioning the rationale behind the government negotiating and paying 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 stress
