A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr.
Obadiah Mailafia, says Nigeria is going through the worst of times as a nation.
He also said the security situation in the nation during the
era of the late military head of state, Sani Abacha, was better than the
insecurity confronting Nigerians in the regime of the President, Major General
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
According to him, the Buhari government is the worst
government Nigeria had since 1960.
Mailafia spoke on Wednesday while featuring on Channels
Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ programme.
He was reacting to the recent assassination attempt on Benue
State Governor, Samuel Ortom, by gunmen.
Recall that Ortom narrowly escaped assassination on Saturday
when herdsmen attacked him on his farm near Makurdi, the state capital.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mailafia said the people of the
Middle Belt condemn the assault and are not afraid of those who carried out the
assault.
He lamented that some forces empower some people from a part
of the country with weapons to terrorise citizens.
Mailafia said, “This attempt on the life of an executive
governor and incumbent of a state is an attempted attack on the entire people
of the state. Those who are trying to do this wicked thing need to understand
the implication of what they are trying to do.
“If the governor of a state cannot feel safe to go to his
farm, how will the ordinary Benue people feel going to their farms? This is a
very bad precedence. The circumstances in Borno are very different. Borno is a
war zone, we’ve been living with these evil people for a while but what
happened in Benue is totally different and diabolical. We don’t know what they
are trying to do but this could affect the whole country.
“Benue people and the people of the Middle Belt will never
ever accept this attempt on one of their sons. Nobody is afraid of these people
but it is just that these people are given arms and allowed to move freely
while the machetes that the ordinary people have are being dispossess from
them, they are not even allowed to defend their homes and their families but we
are glad that God saved the life of his Excellency, Governor Ortom.”
‘World powers want to
destroy Nigeria’
Furthermore, the Presidential candidate of the African Democratic
Congress in the last election said some world powers are bent on destroying
Nigeria by inciting one part of the country against the other.
Mailafia said, “This is totally unprecedented. This is the
worst time ever in the history of Nigeria. You can’t even compare with Abacha’s
time; Abacha’s time was a golden era compare with what is happening. You think
Abacha would have tolerated all these? You can’t travel on these roads,
killings everywhere, destructions everywhere.
“World powers want to destroy Nigeria and what they have
done is to come and meet some people and tell them, ‘You are born to rule’.
There is an agenda (ex-President Olusegun) Obasanjo called Fulanisation and
enforcement of one particular religion against the rest.
“The world powers encourage them and tell them, ‘We are
behind you, go ahead’. They provide the weapons and some local people buy into
that idea and they begin a campaign of genocide because if you carry a heavy
weapon and go into the forests, go into the ancient Savannah, you kill people,
you rape women, what are you? You are committing genocide against the unarmed
and defenceless.”
‘Don’t go after Igboho, Nigerians have a right to defend themselves’
Mailafia said Nigerians have a right to defend themselves
under the present security situation. He also warned security agencies not to
hunt Yoruba rights activist, Sunday Adeyemo, well known as Sunday Igboho.
“Let me make this point clear. Under our constitution, under
our laws and by the precepts of international laws, global ethics, natural
justice and equity, the people who are about to die have a right to defend
themselves, so they (security agencies) will be wise not to go after Igboho. They
should leave that man alone; he is a hero of his people,” the ex-CBN deputy
governor added.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com