NEWS
Killings in Nigeria: Fulani group asks Buhari to listen to Obasanjo’s
advice
The Gan Allah Fulani
Development Association of Nigeria (GAFDAN) has called on President Muhammadu
Buhari to as a matter of urgency listen to the advice of former President
Olusegun Obasanjo on how to move the nation forward and halt the numerous
crises bedeviling the country.
Speaking with
newsmen in Jos, the Plateau State capital, the National Chairman of the group,
Alhaji Sale Bayari, said the present administration ought to listen to other
eminent Nigerians too in solving the nation’s problems, but that from the signs
he is getting, things are not in order.
He said considering
the tribal, ethnic, religious and sectional agitations from the South, East,
North and West, things must be done urgently to address and avert national
crises. According to him, there was no part of the country that agitation is
currently not going on.
He stressed that
even the crises that is already happening in the Northern states like Zamfara,
Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Benue, Nassarawa and so on, are not good for the
country, including that of the other regions like Niger-Delta militants, IPOB,
Afenifere and the rest.
“In moving the
nation forward, the government must listen to some elder statesmen irrespective
of whatever their political views or affiliation is. Former President Olusegun
Obasanjo is one of them. I have found out that if any government in Africa is
to tap one-third of what is in the brain of Obasanjo and use it, Africa will be
better. Similarly, West Africa and Nigeria will be better for it.
“Obasanjo knows our
problem; and then whenever he talks and explodes sometimes, I have found out
that it is because he has made efforts to be listened to without success. He
will then feel that posterity will judge him harshly if he does not come out to
tell Nigerians and the world the truth of things”, he explained.
“Undoubtedly,
Obasanjo is an embodiment of knowledge, experience and he knows very well the
problem of our country, Nigeria. There is nobody dead or alive today that
thinks the way Obasanjo does or knows what Obasanjo knows.
“He knows Nigeria,
Africa and the entire world like the back of his hand. That is why I am
advising this government to tap the brains of people like Obasanjo.
“He is a person
that can lead the government into looking critically at the problem bedeviling
the nation and finding a way forward.
According to him,
“We know that government can do and undo, but any government desiring to move
forward will require the support of statesmen and nationalists like Obasanjo.
“There are other
statesmen the government should listen to; people like Yakubu Gowon, Ango
Abdullahi, Sultan of Sokoto, Oni of Ife, Eze of Onitsha, and others. These are
people that have this nation at heart and would not want it to disintegrate.
Bayeri maintained
that, “If they put their machinery in place, I bet you that peace and progress
will be achieved.
“But unfortunately,
nobody is mobilizing them or seeking their input in solving the national
crises. These people know what to do or the right people to call, among other
things in solving the problems,” he said.
Bayeri said his
fear is that if the government does not carefully handle these looming crises
and they degenerate, the nation does not have the well-withal in terms of
security to tackle it.
He said if the
nation has been unable to tackle Boko Haram since 2009, then it is a greater
danger if crises burst out in other states or regions in the nation.
“Recently, the
Secretary to the Government of the Federal, Boss Mustapha said if the armed
banditry is not carefully handled, it will be worse than the Boko Haram
insurgency. I totally agree with him entirely because if you look at the way
the thing is building up now, then you will understand what I am talking about.
“Very soon, some
religious and insurgent groups may capitalize on it to recruit people for other
nefarious acts. We should not allow this to happen, and we should do everything
possible to halt it,” he warned.
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