Did foot-dragging on the part of President Goodluck Jonathan lead to the intricacy surrounding the location and rescue of the Chibok school girls, who were abducted by the Boko Haram sect on the night of April 14?
According to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the initial lethargic response of the Presidency for more than two weeks led to the withholding of valuable decisions that would have led to the over 200 school girls’ rescue.
The former president, whose views on national issues in recent times have seemed not to go down well with the current administration, gave the damning verdict in an interview with Bloomberg TV Africa, aired on Saturday.
“The president did not believe that those girls were abducted for almost 18 days”, Obasanjo said in the interview.
He added that “If the president got the information within 12 hours of the act and he reacted immediately, I believe those girls would have been rescued within 24 hours, maximum 48 hours”.
The ex-president lamented that rather than spring into action after receiving security briefings about the abduction, “the president had doubts”.
According to him, Jonathan’s initial action was to ask: “‘is this true, or is it a ploy by people who don’t want me to be president again?’”
President Jonathan’s slow response to the kidnapping was the “most unfortunate aspect of the whole issue”, Obasanjo stated.
Recall that the female students, who were sitting for their WAEC at Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, were tricked into leaving their hostels in Boko Haram trucks, whose members disguised as military personnel in the early hours of April 14. Although the over 200 school girls’ abduction became national news almost immediately, the president remained aloof until 20 days after the incident before he even acknowledged that they might have been missing.
It was widely believed that Mr. Jonathan only reckoned with the uproar generated by the girls’ abduction after international pressures mounted, ahead of the World Economic Forum for Africa, which was hosted by Nigeria in Abuja.
The first time he ever mentioned the issue of the girls’ abduction was in a media chat in which he blamed the parents of the school girls for not volunteering information about the victims and the incident.
But his predecessor would have none of it as he recalled that an equal lethargy by President Jonathan thwarted his earlier efforts to mediate in a bid to end the insurgency three years ago.
Boko Haram, whose violent campaigns have led to the death of more than 4,000 people since it started in 2009, with the highest number of killings taking place in 2014 alone, is believed to be waging a war for the enthronement of Sharia law in most of Northern Nigeria.
The Boko Haram insurgency has also been explained as a political tool especially by members of the President Jonathan administration, who often postulate that it was set up with the sole aim of destabilizing the regime and help to return power to the North, despite the fact that the group’s history pre-dates the current administration.
This much was affirmed by Mr. Obasanjo, who said the sect was in existence during his administration but did not pose any problem because he did not interfere with their Sharia.
On the president’s performance, Mr. Obasanjo said in the Bloomberg interview: “I don’t believe he has performed to the expectations of many Nigerians, not just me”.
Watch interview here
Charcoal calling kettle black! This man won’t stop being a clown. U know fully well such deadly group existed yet u did nothing! Only to give silly excuse that u allowed there sharia rule to stand. A rule that majority of northerners are not even comfortable with, u still let them had there way. Now u have the God’s to shift blame, who then is the coward between you both?
Obasanjo should always be sure & careful of his utterances as we all know him to once had occupy the office he today ridicules!
OBJ is no doubt one of the greatest living Nigeria and indeed, as the late Umar Yar’adua described him, the father of modern Nigeria. His act of running down serving heads of government once nearly caused him his life. His constant unrefined and impolite to ways of talking to sitting leaders will cause him humiliation and maybe imprisonment when a president as brash as him is enthroned in the future. He must learn to respect those who respect him.
u ‘let dem pratice their sharia’ bt u led troops to odi and benue were u masacred innocent souls? those u destroyed at odi and d sect bh who u allowed to operate, who has more legitimate ground to carry on their trade? u, a soldier was aware of d existence of such monsters yet u let dem be when u were in d beta position to scrab d evil in d first place. now dat it hs got out of hand u expect a mere civilian to do what u couldn’t do as a military general, and now u pretend to be d lamb and d president a wolf? God is watchingooo!
Let all nigerians put hope in God andmorever nigeria is a currupt country, a country dat have no fear of God cus situation dat happen in Nigeria bowlfull me my advice to all nigerian is to help Mr president to recover our girls
I don’t like the man called Obasanjo for some reasons, but all he said is just the truth and reality.
I’m not happy the way this man OBJ talks. Is he not happy that he is not our president today at his age, is he not suppose to be a national adviser rather what he does is to blame someone for what he allowed to get a taproot.someone should tell him that God will judge him on this matter.
That’s, you’re one of Nigerian enemy of progress,and your request will come back to you,by says God will judge you& him on that matter.imagine,death of more than 10,000 people and 200 young girls are missing and the president still have mind to campaign, did you think these untimely dead people will let him rest? and who is going to face God judgement?
nigeria is a joke!!!! all these treasury looters are jerks.
obj shut up ur dirty mouth
In as much as OBJ is a bad mb but at dis point he us saying d truth. Let’s ondorse his speech.
U may not understand because your children are all with you and you slept with your 2 eyes closed. OBJ is saying the truth and should be left alone, he has nothing against Oga Joe and his government. As much as you said he ( OBJ) is bad Nigeria was not as worst as this during his regime.
OBJ URE A CLOWN. y dd u choose 2let der “sharia” rule knowing fully dat such terrorist exist nd now u want 2blame an innocent man 4wat u had a taproot 2.
The yoruba people stay in the confort of their house (lagos) and say things the know nothing about. We the christians in the north east know what we are facing and the problem is islam
Obasanjo (Baba) am very sorry for u. Well u still have d gut to move around and make comments about wot u urself caused. What exactly did Nigerians achieved during ur tenure. Kettle calling frypan black. I don’t blame u, is becos nemesis has not caught up with u. But believe me it is still coming if u don’t repent and ask God for forgiveness. U are definitely going to be caught in d net, cause u still have part of the blame. Wot u culdnt stop even as a general u expect a civilian to stop, even when u claim to know dey (boko haram) existed during ur time. Why were dey not exposed to be subdued den. U can now talk and shift blame now dat dey apear to be stronger May God help us to release the girls from the hands of dis demons. And may God punish all the traitors of dis great nation (Nigerian)