Nigerian govt asks Obasanjo to withdraw Fulanization comment, apologize to Nigerians

The Federal Government on Tuesday reacted to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s ‘Fulanisation’ comments, describing it as deeply offensive and patently divisive.

The Federal Government which also said that the “indiscreet comments are far below the status of an elder statesman,” said Obasanjo will do well by withdrawing the statement and render apology to Nigerians.

This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, adding that “it was particularly tragic that a man who fought to keep Nigeria one is the same one seeking to exploit the country’s fault lines to divide it in the twilight of his life.”

Obasanjo had at the weekend claimed that Boko Haram and marauding Fulani herdsmen were out to Islamize and ‘Fulanize’ Nigeria and the entire West Africa.

But the government decried that Obasanjo was imputing ethno-religious motive to Boko Haram and ISWAP, who it said are terrorist organizations pure and simple, and care little about ethnicity or religion when perpetrating their senseless killings and destruction.

“Since the Boko Haram crisis, which has been simmering under the watch of Obasanjo, boiled over in 2009, the terrorist organization has killed more Muslims than adherents of any other religion, blown up more mosques than any other houses of worship and is not known to have spared any victim on the basis of their ethnicity. It is therefore absurd to say that Boko Haram and its ISWAP variant have as their goal the ‘Fulanisation and Islamisation’ of Nigeria, West Africa or Africa,” Mohammed said.

He said President Buhari put to rest the mis-characterization of Boko Haram as an Islamic organization when he said, in his inaugural speech in 2015, that “Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group who are as far away from Islam as one can think of”.

The Minister said Obasanjo’s comments are therefore “as insensitive and mischievous as they are as offensive and divisive” in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country like Nigeria, wondering whether there is no limit to how far the former President will go in throwing poisonous darts at his perceived political enemies.

He said Obasanjo’s prescriptions for ending the Boko Haram/ISWAP crisis, which include seeking assistance outside the shores of Nigeria, are coming several years late, as President Buhari has done that and more since assuming office, hence the phenomenal success he has recorded in tackling the terrorists.

“Shortly after assuming office in 2015, President Buhari’s first trips outside the country were to rally the support of Nigeria’s neighbours – Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger – for the efforts to battle the terrorists. The President also rallied the support of the international community, starting with the G7, and then the US, France and the UN.

READ ALSO: FULANIZATION: Obasanjo has an agenda to disintegrate Nigeria at all cost – Group alleges

“That explains the massive degrading of Boko Haram, which has since lost its capacity to carry out the kind of spectacular attacks for which it became infamous, and the recovery of every inch of captured Nigerian territory from the terrorists,” Mohammed said.

The Minister called on the former President, whom he said took bullets for Nigeria’s unity, not to allow personal animosity to override his love for a united Nigeria, saying it will not be out of place if he withdraws his unfortunate statement and apologizes to Nigerians.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now