But critics have faulted OBJ for openly criticizing Jonathan, saying some of the remote causes of Boko Haram took roots during OBJ’s administration. Baba is therefore not completely blameless.
The failure of the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to roll out a cohesive and comprehensive policy on security, has expectedly, raised anxiety among Nigerians, especially as the problem continues to spiral out of control.
Given the terrible scenario playing out in the country, manifested in poverty of the masses, high corruption in government, gross official recklessness and near zero governance, it is no surprise that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, not known for his friendship to incumbent President Jonathan, has found it necessary to speak out loud about the parlous condition of the country.
OBJ seemed to be worried that Jonathan is losing the war against the Boko Haram partly because of the wrong approach the latter has adopted to confront the scourge. Obasanjo told the Cable News Network (CNN) that rather than just crack down on Boko Haram, the Federal Government should adopt a more holistic approach to conclusively check the activities of the group: “To deal with a group like that, you need a carrot and stick. The carrot is finding out how to reach out to them. “When you try to reach out to them and they are not amenable to being reached out to, you have to use the stick.”
According to OBJ, Jonathan was “just using the stick in his efforts. He’s doing one aspect of it well, but the other aspect must not be forgotten.” Without calling names, Baba intimated that the terrorists had the support and backing of some wealthy Nigerians of Northern extraction, but added that Jonathan could do more to reach out to the group to find out why its members are carrying out acts of violence.
Obasanjo said he had tried to reach out to Boko Haram about a year and a half ago through a lawyer who was acting as the group’s proxy, and had asked if they had external backing. The lawyer told him that the group was receiving support from other Nigerians who have resources overseas or “other organizations from abroad.” “If they had 25 per cent support a year and a half ago, today that support has doubled,” the former president said.
According to Obasanjo, resolving the issue is key to Nigeria’s progress. “Boko Haram undermines security, and anything that undermines security undermines development, undermines education, undermines health, undermines agriculture and food and nutrition security,” he said.
But critics have faulted OBJ for openly criticizing Jonathan, saying some of the remote causes of Boko Haram took roots during OBJ’s administration. Baba is therefore not completely blameless. Also having regards to his status, OBJ ought to have direct access to President Jonathan. The fact that he chose a CNN; a foreign medium to talk to Jonathan somehow reduces the propriety of his methods.
Analysts suggest that reaching out to Boko Haram may be increasingly difficult because the group has split into different factions – some with a domestic focus and others with a more pan-jihadi approach. Boko Haram claims to have carried out numerous deadly attacks on mosques, churches and businesses in the northern parts of the country and is suspected of having links to al Qaeda. International rights group, Human Rights Watch, says Boko Haram has killed more than 2,800 people.
