Buhari got it right on insurgency — Obasanjo

From KAYODE BODUNRIN, Maiduguri

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has commended President Mohammed Buhari for starting on the right foot with the strangulation of insurgency which has crippled human existence in the north east of Nigeria in the last six years.

President Obasanjo believes that President Mohammed Buhari is not only a very concerned patriot but somebody who has the feeling of the common masses at hand such that he wants to stop the carnage of innocent civilians caused by the insurgent Boko Haram.

Obasanjo who was in Maiduguri during the week said the President in tackling this scourge ” got it right from his first footstep by ensuring military ascendency over insurgency.”

Which was the right thing for a commander in chief to do.

He commended Buhari for maintaining a strong relationship with his neighbours which was the first thing that should happen to ensure solid cordination from all fronts in the process of winning the war.

“Of course mines must be cleared to ensure that the work of all partners in and out of the theatre will be an easy one because where ever there are mines, the work becomes tedious for all partners both civilians and the military who may be the first targets of these mines.

“Mines must be cleared and he is doing so while he is doing massive clearance of the areas affected to ensure that the people can move back to their various areas and settle down before the end of the year.” He said.

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The former President called on the government and international partners to ensure that they document the lessons learnt from this vicious battle with insurgents which has lasted for the last six years resulting in unecessary loss of lives.

This he noted will serve as a reservoir of proactive knowledge to future generations to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated.

Obasanjo commended the improvement in the security within the State capital adding that things look far better from 2011 when he last visited Maiduguri.

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Responding, Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima regretted that the insurgency was badly managed during the past regime adding that if it was Chief Obasanjo that was the commander in chief of the armed forces, it may not have lingered for so long since he had actually showed some forms of responsible leadership towards the unity of Nigeria.

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He went on ” In our own case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency. I brought this mainly to show the difference, because we will only appreciate scenarios when we make comparisons.”

“if I were to author a book on President Obasanjo, I would title that book, THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION, and this is for the fact that, since my adulthood, I have not practically seen any Nigerian leader that has the courage of President Obasanjo when it comes to standing by his conviction. At some point, when governance was at its lowest ebb in this country, President Obasanjo was the lone voice that told the truth to power.”