Boko Haram and herdsmen acts of violence were not treated as they should at the beginning, Obasanjo said.
Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari
Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria's former President who spoke at the 2nd session of the Synod held at the Cathedral Church of St.Paul’s Anglican Church, Oleh in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, stated that Buhari's government strengthened Boko Haram by paying ransoms.
The former President who warned that every insecurity situation in Nigeria must be taken seriously and be addressed at once without favouritism or cuddling, spoke on the topic, “Mobilizing Nigeria’s human& natural resources for national development and stability”.
Admitting that Boko Haram and herdsmen acts of violence were not treated as they should at the beginning, Obasanjo stated that Buhari's government strengthened Boko Haram by paying ransoms which they have continuously denied. He said;
“They have both incubated and developed beyond what Nigeria can handle alone. They are now combined and internationalized with ISIS in control. It is no longer an issue of lack of education and lack of employment for our youths in Nigeria which it began as, it is now West African fulanization, African Islamization and global organized crimes of human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, illegal mining and regime change.
“Yet, we could have dealt with both earlier, and nip them in the bud, but Boko Haram boys were seen as rascals not requiring serious attention in administering holistic measures of stick and carrot. And when we woke up to the reality, it was turned to industry for all and sundry to supply materials and equipment that were already outdated and that were not fit for active military purpose.
“Soldiers were poorly trained for the unusual mission, poorly equipped, poorly motivated, poorly led and made to engage in propaganda rather than achieving results. Intelligence was poor and governments embarked on games of denials while paying ransoms which strengthened the insurgents and yet governments denied payments of ransoms. Today, the insecurity issue has gone beyond the wit and capacity of Nigerian Government or even West African Governments”.