Chief Olusegun Abiodun Bolarinwa is an international security expert who has worked with many security outfits within and outside Nigeria. He is also one of the loyalists of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In this interview by GBENGA OLUMIDE, he speaks about insecurity, which has been bedeviling the nation and other issues.
What is your view on the state of the nation?
Well, I am not happy with all that is happening in Nigeria as of this moment. We are all of the opinion that things ought to have changed better by now because the expectations of Nigerians were so high when we voted in the present administration. It is just so unfortunate that Nigerians are not enjoying the full dividends of democracy. The government should find a lasting solution to the issue of insecurity that is bedeviling the nation because a country that is not safe cannot develop. With what I have seen in other countries, I discovered that Nigeria is lagging behind in terms of security, technology and development. The government should pay more attention to the security challenges that are confronting the country. It is just so unfortunate that we woke up on January 1st and heard it on the news that almost a hundred people had been killed in Benue State that happens to be the food basket of the Nation. Up till now, the president has not done anything reasonable in the area of security.
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I see no reason the president will not be bold enough to deal with these so called Fulani herdsmen. Nigeria belongs to all of us. We will not fold our hands and allow herdsmen to be killing innocent citizens. I also want to commend the Christian Association of Nigeria for coming out in clear terms to resist the Fulani herdsmen killings. President Mohammadu Buhari, as the father of the nation should reduce his travelling and find a lasting solution to all our problems. I think for now his best is not good for us. That is why we want him to formulate programmes and policies that will transform the lives of Nigerians positively. Also the issue of unemployment should be looked into. No sector is working in Nigeria as of now. Our health sector is nothing to write home about. Security is zero. So it will be impossible for such a nation to grow and develop.
We all know that you are very close to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. What do you think is the cause of the crisis between him and President Buhari?
There is no crisis between Chief Obasanjo and President Buhari. What transpired between the two is a matter of principle and policy. Without mincing words, Chief Obasanjo is an international leader and he cannot just fold his hands and allow things to be going on this way. On a daily basis, people are being killed due to high rate of insecurity. I don’t think it is a crime for him to call the President to order. Being a former president, he knows what it entails to be a leader. I don’t think it will be right for him to just sit down and allow things to get out of hand. It is just so unfortunate that Baba is being misquoted by some aides of President Buhari. The letter Baba wrote to the President is very timely and it is a call for him (Buhari) to sit tight and do the needful and ensure that this country moves forward. When Nigerians were being killed in South Africa, it is this same Obasanjo who went there to challenge South African government that they should stop the killings of Nigerians. Baba Obasanjo is not a hypocrite or sycophant and that was why he challenged the President on the issue of insecurity and economic instability. I think it is wrong for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to be attacking Obasanjo. He did the same thing when Dr Goodluck Jonathan was going astray. He supported Buhari in 2015, believing that President Buhari would act according to the message he passed to Nigerians during his campaign. Chief Obasanjo doesn’t have tribalistic tendency. He believes in one Nigeria and that is why he is trying his best to make sure that there is peace, unity and stability in Nigeria. I am very close to him and I know his attitude. Baba is someone who has the love of Nigeria at heart.
Don’t you think Chief Obasanjo’s action in recent times has a political undertone, and what do you have to say about the new political party, African Democratic Party (ADC) he aligned with? And do you think it will be possible for a new party to wrestle power from the APC?
I am not a politician but I am a Nigerian. I think one of the leaders who should be accorded full respect is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He is an international leader as I said and to the glory of God, he is our pride in Nigeria. We need to appreciate him while he is still alive because he is a noble leader who does not tolerate any act of indiscipline. I will not want to talk about the issue of ADC because I’m not a politician, but what I know is that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder. I think it is high time we gave him our support. He is fighting for Nigerians and in my own opinion the issue of insecurity is something that concerns every Nigerian. People are being killed in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Maiduguri and even in the South-West. All what Baba wants for the nation is peace, unity, stability and progress. I just want to implore President Buhari to heed Obasanjo’s advice by stopping the herdsmen’s killings and make the economy work. Also those who are castigating him should know that once he tells you the truth and you refuse to listen to him, he will come out in clear terms to let the public knows that he has tried his best.
My advice for President Buhari and his team is to retrace their steps and redeem their image because they have betrayed the trust Nigerians reposed in them. The way things are going I don’t think the APC will win election in 2019 because Nigerians are hungry and angry.
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