More reactions trail Obasanjo’s letter to Buhari

…Afenifere, Ohaneze, Jonathan, Miyetti Allah, others, spar over letter

…We will reply at appropriate time – ACF

Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja

More reactions have continued to trail the most recent letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari expressing concerns over the high level of insecurity bedevilling the country in recent times.

While some praised the former President for speaking up, others picked holes in his statement.

Obasanjo through his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, had on Monday released a letter that forewarned President Buhari of the imminent crises that could engulf the country if some issues were not addressed.

The former President said that the country is on the edge of collapse and that all hands must be on deck to prevent it from collapsing.

Obasanjo called for urgent actions to tackle Nigeria’s challenges and offered pieces of advice that could help combat the challenges.

Reacting to the letter, the pan-Yoruba socio-political political group, Afenifere, while expressing sadness over the development attributed it to “failure of leadership.’’

Speaking through its spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin, in Lagos, the group commended the former president for speaking the minds of Nigerians in a very frank, bold and unmistaken manner about the crisis in the country.

“Well, Obasanjo has spoken in a very frank, bold and unmistaken manner about the crisis Nigeria is growing through and the failure of leadership as well as the inherent state of insecurity in the country where life is so short, nasty and brutish,” Afenifere said.

On its part, the pan Igbo group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, said that the only way to address the security crisis in the country is to endorse the national dialogue as advocated by Obasanjo.

Emeka Attama, the media aide to its president-general, who spoke on behalf of the group, stressed the need for urgent action, adding that the group has completely endorsed the position of the ex president.

He added that “delay could spell doom for the country.”

Insecurity is getting worse under Buhari – Joanthan

Similarly, former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that insecurity under the leadership of President Buhari is getting worse.

Jonathan, who spoke during his condolence visit to Reuben Fasoranti, leader of Afenifere, in Akure, Ondo State capital, said the issue of security must be approached from a different dimension.

‘’We cannot continue the old way because it is getting out of hand. We hope the federal and state governments will do something about it.

“Every generation face problems and this generation must find ways to solve these problems. Every government faces problem.

The first commercial kidnapping, because it involved money, happened in 2006 when I was the governor of Bayelsa state.

From that time, it moved to terrorism in the north. Now, it is a major problem in the country.

“The Federal Government in conjunction with state government must design a different approach to this issue.

I was there as president and security challenge was there but now, it is getting worse every day and we can’t continue to use the same old method.

“I believe the federal government should set up a special unit like we set up EFCC and ICPC to handle corruption cases, so that they will know that their responsibility is to manage this kidnapping, killings and the rest. We can’t continue like this, it is not possible,’’ Jonathan added.

There were fundamental issues raised in the letter – CSOs

Also, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), while throwing its weight behind former president, said that there were fundamental issues raised in the letter that needed to be addressed urgently by the Federal Government.

The executive director of CISLAC, Alhaji Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, insisted that the presidency must look inward and address the issues raised by Obasanjo.

“All that Obasanjo said must be look at critically with the sole aim of addressing them. They are begging for serious attention. As a government, they should work towards addressing the problems and not the personality that point them out’’, he added.

In the same vein, the Centre for Democracy Development (CDD) said that the letter was the best thing that happened at a time the country was getting tense.

The group, which has been working to entrench democracy, good governance and fight against corruption, added that the security challenges in the country were worrying.

CDD said that if the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) lawmakers were deliberating on the increasing insecurity in Nigeria, the country’s leaders must rise to the challenge.

Miyetti Allah seeks Obasanjo’s arrest

Meanwhile, the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, in a swift reaction, has called for the arrest of Obasanjo over his latest letter.

The National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah, Alhassan Saleh, who spoke during an interview in Abuja, said that the Fulani should not be blamed for the rate of insecurity in the country.

According to Saleh, Obasanjo should offer any information his status may have afforded him to solve the security crisis.

“The fact that there is insecurity, I don’t think the Fulani are responsible for it. The narrative that we are responsible for the insecurity is even the problem we have with the Nigerian state.

“When any crime happens, even before there is an investigation, people rush to the press and start accusing Fulani herdsmen.

Herdsmen are supposed to be carrying herds of cows but if somebody is a criminal or an armed robber, he should be treated as such’’, Saleh said.

We will reply at appropriate time – ACF

On its part, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has said that the forum is still understudying the letter and would respond to it at the appropriate time.

“Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is studying Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and will make its position known soon’’, National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu said.

Meanwhile, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abubakar Girei, has said that Obasanjo did not say anything new in his latest letter.

“But reading in between the lines I believe our security and intelligence agencies will do the needful to save us from the nefarious plans of the looters, bad political losers and other enemies of our dear nation.

Obasanjo and his cohorts should know that there will be no hiding place for anyone who is bent on bringing down the whole roof over our heads.

“I will suggest that regardless of the well-known ill intention of the messenger, Buhari should also consider a political solution to our challenges to complement other measures.

Creating avenues for dialogue and discussions at various levels is certainly a good option.”

The Daily Times recalls that Funke Olakunrin, the 58-year-old daughter of the leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, was shot dead by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in Ore, headquarters of Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

It was gathered that Mrs. Olakunrin was heading for Akure from Lagos when gunmen suspected to be herdsmen attacked her on the Benin-Ore road.

Many notable Nigerians have come out to condemn the development some calling for a total over haul of security.