Insecurity: There’s Nothing To Celebrate In Change Of Service Chiefs – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has bemoaned the lethargic and insouciant disposition of President Muhammadu Buhari to the insecurity ravaging the country.

The former president, who spoke during a virtual interview, with Toyin Falola, a historian, on Sunday, said there’s nothing to be happy about the change of service chiefs, noting that he kept the previous ones despite their obvious failings and inability to address the perennial insecurity.

He charged Buhari to wake up to his responsibilities and tackle the rising cases of banditry in the country, adding that he would not comment on performance of the new service chiefs until after three or six months.

He said he thought Buhari would do well in fighting corruption but that he did not know he had nepotistic tendencies.

He also said he expected him to do well in the area of security but was surprised at his performance.

He wondered what had gone wrong with Buhari, saying he does not support the conspiracy theory that the present occupant of Aso rock is from Sudan.

“I thought I knew President Buhari because he worked with me. But I used to ask people, is it that I have not read him well or read him adequately or is it that he has changed from the Buhari that I used to know? I am not subscribing to the people who say we have a new Buhari from Sudan and all that nonsense,” he said.

“I know what I believed was his limitations and I have written about it –he wasn’t strong in economics, not all of us are strong in anything but you need to have sufficient knowledge of it for you to direct the affairs. He wasn’t particularly too strong in foreign affairs but I thought he was strong enough in the military.

“From his performance in his first outing as head of state, I thought he would also do well in fighting corruption. I did not know the nepotistic tendencies of President Buhari maybe because he was not exposed to that sort of situation when he worked with me.

“With what I have seen now, I believe that maybe he will be thinking of a legacy. Maybe he will also learn from what has happened in recent times.

“If you are the commander-in-chief and banditry is taking place in your backyard, then you have to wake up. The president changed his service chiefs after they have been there for more than five years without any perceptible improvement and some people started jubilating.

“I don’t know any of those people that have been appointed as service chiefs but you will hear my comments three to six months from now because within that period, we should be able to show what they can do.”

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