The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has reacted to the latest open letter written by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration over the current state of insecurity in the country.
The group urged the federal government not to jettison Obasanjo’s advice, but address the fundamental issues raised by the ex-Nigerian leader.
Chuks Ibegbu, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, who spoke to newsmen Wednesday morning in Umuahia, the Abia state capital, however berated Obasanjo, claiming that he (the ex-President), was part and parcel of problems currently bedeviling Nigeria.
Ibegbu pointed out that despite the ex-President’s letter to the Buhari-led presidency over insecurity in the land, the implementation of the 2014 national confab report remained the only solution to the economic and security challenges currently ravaging the country.
His words, “The concern of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo cannot be dismissed easily. Because, what is happening in this country today is worrisome. No Nigerian that is not apprehensive of what is happening in the country, security wise.
“But, I want to be dispassionate about this. Obasanjo himself, was contributory to the current problems of Nigeria. Obasanjo was a product of the leadership cacophony that has ravaged this country in the past thirty to fourty years. Not everybody that have the courage to write the letter. This is the second letter he is writing to President Buhari-led administration. I want to thank him for that.
“And I want to call on the present leadership in the country not to dismiss the letter. Look at the merits, some of the points outlined in that letter, and also, see the areas that need to be addressed. They should not politicize it. Nigeria government and its citizens look at the genuine aspect of his letter. The critical aspect of his letter that can be addressed, and Buhari government should look into it.
“They should not throw away the water with bath-tub. In as much as Obasanjo is part and parcel of the challenges this country is passing through both during military and civilian regime, which he was part of. We are aware of the third term saga. We are aware of so many other misfortunes Nigeria passed through, during his regime.
“So, the seed of what we are passing through now, was laid by Obasanjo and thereafter. But, nobody should dismiss his advice. The Buhari-led government should not look at it as another Obasanjo letter. Government should look into it, so that the insecurity challenges, the challenges of the economy, the challenges of over population, the challenges of killings and the challenges of killer herdsmen.
“Above all, I must point out that 2014 national confab report contained solutions to the problems of this country. We cannot throw it out. We are running away from reality in Nigeria. We are deceiving ourselves. We keep going round and round the circle, until we address the fundamental issues. The leaders of this country, are messing up this country.
“Nigeria is a blessed country, blessed materially and otherwise. But, the political leaders of this country are being insincere to themselves. They keep on putting their heads in sand. That is what they are doing. They know the solutions to our problems. But for political reasons, for primordial ethnic sentiments and religious bigotry, they failed to address this issues. The 2014 confab report is the solution to our problems.”
