22052019 - F U L A N I S AT I O N A G E N D A : Obasanjo seeks to divide Nigeria in his old age —FG

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2019—41
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VISIT—Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (right) with the Majority
Leader of the House of Representatives and candidate for the post of Speaker,
Femi Gbajabiamila (middle) and the Director-General of his Campaign
Council, Abdul Mumin Jibril, when Gbajabiamila led over 103 members of
the 9th House of Representatives, to pay a visit to the governor at the
Government House, Enugu, to solicit his support, yesterday.
Obasanjo seeks to divide
Nigeria in his old age —FG
Continues from Page 5
to alienate a large number
of Nigerians, who are
offended by his tactless
and distasteful
postulation.
If Obasanjo has
grouse with
Fulani, let him
say so
— MURIC
In like manner,
Executive Director of
MURIC, Prof. Ishaq
Akintola, said in a chat
with Vanguard that
Obasanjo’s attribution of
acts of terror by these
violent groups to some
sort of West Africa
Fulanisation and Africa
Islamisation Agenda bore
signs of mounting senility
on his part.
He said: “The ex-
President is simply licking
his own spittle. Would he
have made that speech
when he was President?
When we started Sharia in
1999, Obasanjo was not
outrightly antagonistic.
He knows better because
he knows the truth.
“Is it senility? Is the ex-
President going senile?
Otherwise, I don’t see
how he will be promoting
lawlessness, dividing the
country, and playing the
religious card. What has
ethnicity got to do with
the insecurity in the
country?
“If he has something
against the Fulani, let
him come out and say so.
A statesman should not
attack any ethnic group.
“It’s a pity that those
who are supposed to
know better are behaving
like kindergartens. It’s so
unfortunate. I am grossly
disappointed in former
President Obasanjo. He
used to be more
matured. This is not the
Obasanjo we used to
know, he should go and
read his own books.”
CAN,
Onaiyekan,
Martins back
Obasanjo
However, CAN
disagreed with the
Federal Government’s
position on ‘’the patriotic
statement’’ credited to
Obasanjo, saying when
an elder statesman
makes such sensitive
statement about Nigeria,
it shouldn’t be waved
aside.
CAN Director of Legal
Services and Public
Affairs, Mr. Samuel
Naira stable at N359.5/$ in
I&E window
By Elizabeth Adegbesan
THE Naira, yesterday, was stable at N359.5 per
dollar in the parallel market.
However, the Naira appreciated by 30 kobo in the
Investors and Exporters (I&E) window due to a 65
percent rise in the volume of dollars traded.
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative
exchange rate for the I&E window dropped to
N360.42 per dollar yesterday from N360.72 per
dollar on Monday, translating to 35 kobo
appreciation for the Naira.
The volume of dollars (turnover) traded on the
window yesterday rose by 65 percent to $
138.41million from $ 84.08 million traded on
Monday.
Kwamkur, in a telephone
chat, yesterday, argued
that Chief Obasanjo who
has fought to keep
Nigeria’s unity cannot be
making wild statements
without considering the
wide implication of the
nation’s security.
His words: “I think the
statement by Obasanjo is
a wake-up call on all
Nigerians that demands
serious reflection and a
rethink with a view to
finding lasting solution to
the growing security
challenges spreading
across the nation. We have
a serious challenge in this
nation.
“What I think the
Federal Government
should do is call the likes
of Chief Obasanjo to a
round table meeting and
critically look at the
security issues and fashion
a way forward. The trouble
with Nigeria is that we do
not look at our challenges
beyond political
considerations. I believe
that when an elder
statesman like Obasanjo
who loves this country,
makes such a statement
like that, it calls for serious
rethinking.
“I have read quite a lot
of comments by several
persons on the issue and I
think we should not just
wave it just like that. We
need to give it a serious
consideration and deep
thought and find amicable
solution to a collective
challenge.
“On the side of
Obasanjo, you have been
a leader who should not
have made such a
statement like that since
you can bring such things
before the current leaders.
The statement should have
been directed to
Government to clearly
define a way out of the
problem.”
According to him, that
Chief Obasanjo went
public with such a serious
matter is not the matter
now.
‘’He may have done his
homework and was not
able to reach the powers
that be. He is at liberty to
address any issue he
feels concerned about.
There is nothing wrong in
going public if he felt that
something is going to
affect the country
adversely.
“I do not blame him for
going public. I think the
government should liaise
with eminent past leaders
like Gen. TY Danjuma
and look at the issues
dispassionately without
recourse to religion,
ethnicity and whatever
considerations for the
betterment of the
country,” he said.
Onaiyekan,
Martins concur
The Catholic
Archbishop of Abuja, John
Cardinal Onaiyekan and
Archbishop of the
Metropolitan See of
Lagos, Most Rev Alfred
Adewale Martins, agreed
with Obasanjo.
The duo spoke,
yesterday, during the 5th
anniversary of Africa’s 1st
Satellite Catholic
television and
presentation of maiden
annual lecture held at
Catholic TV House,
Osapa, Lekki, Lagos.
Tasking the federal
government on an
immediate and more
aggressive approach to
deal with the current
challenge of insecurity
and criminal activities
across the country,
Archbishop Onaiyekan
said Nigerians were
practically at the mercy of
criminals in the country.
He added that
Nigerians cannot
continue to pretend that
all is well with the security
situation in the country.
He said: “We cannot
pretend that everything is
fine; you move round with
fear in your heart. Apart
from the Boko Haram
senseless insurgency,
which has been around
for the past 10 years, we
have other terrorist
activities in the country.
Initially, we did not see
the herdsmen as terrorist,
now we know.
“I also agree with
General Obasanjo’s
statement on the security
issue in the country
although I have not read
the full statement but what
is sure is that we know
that Boko Haram are with
guns Islamizing by force.
All the girls that they
kidnapped, they put hijab
on them and displayed
them all to the whole
world that they have all
become Muslims.
“This is clearly a case
that the group called Boko
Haram believes that they
have every right or the
duty to spread Islam by
force.
“Nigerians are
practically at the mercy of
these criminals and when
you have a government,
and such things are
happening, I begin to ask
myself if we have a
government because we
have to speak the truth to
ourselves.
“Before the modern
government, we know
that in our traditional
culture, every able bodied
man went around with his
cutlass, bows and arrows
to defend himself. Now,
we have disarmed
ourselves so that the
security agencies can
protect us and if they
cannot protect us and the
only people that carry
weapons around are
criminals, we can see that
this doesn’t work. It is
only the rich people and
those in government that
surround themselves with
security.”
Also Archbishop
Martins in his homily,
said he was amazed that
those in authorities
disputed former President
Obasanjo’s statement,
adding that instead of
trading blames and
insults, all hands must be
on deck to address the
nation’s security
challenge.
FG naïve to
accuse Obasanjo
of dividing the
country
– Adebanjo
For Chief Ayo Adebanjo,
the former President reechoed
what he and some
leaders of the country
have been saying for a
while now, adding that
the Federal Government
must be naïve to accuse
Obasanjo of dividing the
country with his
comments.
‘’There is nothing new
in what Obasanjo said.
We have been saying it
for a long time. President
Buhari cannot say that he
does not know that Boko
Haram insurgents are
terrorists. Obasanjo is in
order. He has hit the nail
on the head. He said it at
the right time. Those who
have ears let them hear,’’
he said.
There is danger
in the land
– Nyiam
Also speaking, Col
Nyiam said: ‘’There is
observable high level of
mutual distrust between
the original land owners
of Nigeria and the settlers
in their midst. There is
emerging alliance of the
South-West, South-East,
South-South, North-
Central or Middle Belt
and the Hausa people on
one side, versus the
armed Fulani herdsmen
invaders.
‘’Former President
Obasanjo’s crying out
against what he sees as
the on-going Islamisation
and Fulanisation of
Nigeria in particular and
West Africa as a whole.
‘’The fact that almost all
the critics of the former
President’s remarks are
almost all Fulani, have all
collectively seen to the
widening of the gap
through which Nigeria’s
enemy within and their
external bosses would
penetrate our fold and kill
more thousands of
innocent Nigerians.
‘’Our continuing to be
afraid of each other is
what our enemies desire
and are exploiting to their
warfare advantage. There
is now an opportunity for
a strategic resolution of
the recurring Nigerian
security problems.
‘’The rare occasion is
now made available by the
unprecedented national
insecurity development.
And this is by virtue of the
irony that the terrorist
chickens have come home
to roost among those who
believe they are born to
rule others against their
wishes and in the sacred
cows region of the North-
West of Nigeria.
‘’The Niger and Chad
foot soldiers who the far
North’s political elite use
to either inflate the
population of North-West
region during national
headcount or to rig
presidential election in
Nigeria are now forcefully
demanding pay back for
the services they’ve
rendered to the parasitic
Fulani elite.
‘’Don’t mind the far
North leaders pretexts,
they are facing the
greatest danger to their
lives from the
talakawas(the poor) they
have been exploiting for
long.’’
It’s dangerous to
ignore
Obasanjo’s
observation
– Shonibare
To Shonibare, the former
President is an African
statesman with several
local and international
connections and ‘’any
government which elects
to ignore his observations
about the state of insecurity
in the polity does so at its
own peril because
‘’Afenifere, Ohanaeze,
Middlebelt Forum and
even belatedly Arewa
Consultative Forum have
all expressed great
apprehension about the
state of insecurity.
“It is in the best interest
of the Executive to
appreciate that all these
organizations constitute the
pulse and genuine
expressions of the thoughts
of the people of this country.
The President himself had
alluded to non- Nigerians
being culpable for many of
the state of insurgency.
“He has once held sway
in our country first as
military Head of State and
subsequently as civilian
President. I would imagine
that a leader who has held
such positions, cannot and
must not be frivolous in his
contributions and must
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