Former President
Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, blamed the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan
for allowing the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to grow into a monster that is now
uncontrollable by his failure to act on a report submitted to the government.
The former president who spoke at a lecture delivered by Professor
Bolaji Akinyemi to mark the 40th anniversary of Pastor Ayo
Oritsejafor’s call to ministry at the Word of Life Bible Church, Warri in Delta
State, also tasked Nigerians to choose between a strong leader who might adopt
unusual approach to tackle a problem or a weak leader who will leave the
problem to fester.
Answering a question
from a pastor from Borno State on how he could forge any form of unity with
those who are perpetuating violence in the northern part of the country,
Obasanjo went emotional, saying: “Boko Haram is an ill wind that blows nobody
no good.”
He proceeded to narrate
his experience when he went on a fact-finding mission to Borno State which was
regarded as the base of Boko Haram.
He said: “They Boko
Haram stated their grievances and I promised to relay them to the authorities
in power, because that was the best I could do. I did report. But my fear at
that time is still my fear till today. When you have a sore and fail to attend
to it quickly, it festers and grows to become something else.
“Whichever way, you just
have to attend to it. Don’t leave it unattended to. On two occasions I had to
attend to the problem I faced at that time. I sent soldiers to a place and 19
of them were killed. If I had allowed that to continue, I will not have
authority to send security whether police, soldier and any force any where
again. So, I had to nip it in the bud and that was the end of that particular
problem,” he said.
He was, however, careful
to admit that all problems might not require that kind of treatment. According
to him, “if you say you don’t want a strong leader who can have all
characteristics of leaders including God fearing, then have a weak leader and
the rest of the problem is yours.”
He argued that “the
beauty of democracy is that power rests in the people, and every elected person
would seek your votes to come back; if you don’t want him, he won’t come back.
He noted that people had been saying that he brought President Goodluck Jonathan
but what they have failed to admit is that he didn’t give all the votes that
brought the man to power.
The erstwhile president
therefore charged Nigerians to stand up and take their destinies in their own
hands, reminding them of a Yoruba adage, “if you say it the way it is, you will
die; if you don’t say anything at all, you will die, why don’t you say it and
die?”