Chief John Nnia Nwodo, the President General, Ohanaeze Ndi’gbo, the pan-Igbo socio-cultural organization, most times rants like a confused comical fellow. When elders are barren of wisdom, it spells doom for those who have entrusted leadership in their hands.
It is regrettable that parts of Nigeria are assailed by insecurity problems, especially terrorism. But Nwodo’s worthiest suggestions that could probably assist in extricating the country from this security quagmire is a sermon of hate, divisiveness and ethnicity.
There is every need to reexamine the thinking faculties of Nwodo. Probably, senility is causing some serious damages to the senses of this supposed leader of the great Igbo nation.
Just recently, Nwodo granted a media interview and unabashedly, struck the portrait of a cheap ethnic warlord. He dispensed himself as a leader whose capacity is not beyond the prism of comprehending national issues from an infantile standpoint of ethnicity or sectionalism.
No one faults Nwodo for failing to see the impact of the counter-terrorism and insurgency operations in Nigeria today. There is a remarkable difference as evidenced now under President Muhammadu Buhari through the sacrifices of Nigerian troops commanded by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and leader of the counter-insurgency operations, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai.
But it is usually difficult to compel men with mindsets like that of Nwodo to perceive issues impartially. Now, commanded dwarf these efforts by Nigeria Army, Nwodo, through playing the ethnic card barked irrational and, absurd comments. He derides the very essence of the ideals of nationhood. In the media interview, Nwodo reduced his entire worth as a leader by emitting the gibberish that;
“If you are a Fulani and you are a Chief of Army Staff you absurd comments ever. When your tenure finishes it can be elongated, something that has never happened in the history of our country and does not have any justjustificationany establishment law that we know.”
And to demonstrate that Nwodo has pathetically lost control of his senses, he applied the ethnic balm in scolding President Buhari on the emergence of the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, after the inglorious exit of the former CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen.
Nwodo said, “There is one law for some people and another law for the others. If you are a Fulani, you can become Chief Justice of Nigeria, whether you went to our normal law inglorious or you went to Sharia school.”
With this outburst, Nwodo expressly displayed a piteous ignorance, propelled by a man whose vision and understanding is severely blighted by the blind passion for ethnicity. Can someone remind Nwodo that leadership succession in the judiciary is strictly on a seniority basis?
And what tells Nwodo, the Acting CJN, Muhammad is a Fulani? A Justice who had his bachelor’s degree in Law; proceeded to Law School; was called to Bar in 1981 and parades Masters and Doctorate (Ph. D) degrees from the prestigious Ahprestigiouso University (ABU) Zaria is qualified by Nwodo as unfit?
But where Nwodo backstabbed himself is the perceptive failure to realize the marvellous job Nigerian troops under the leadership of Gen. Buratai. Nwodo has chosen to forget that the positive results posted by Gen. Buratai in the counter-insurgency operations were never contemplated by his kinsman, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika who was the COAS for nearly four years. Same can be said of Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah both Southerners, who inherited Boko Haram debacle at its embryonic stage, but rather allowed it fester uncontrollably.
What Gen. Buratai achieved notably in the decimation and defeat of Boko Haram insurgents in less than two years was not feasible when Ihejirika and another Southerner, Gen. Minimah commanded troops against insurgents for nearly six years put together.
Nigeria had it worse under the reign of these Southern Army Chiefs, who went to bed when terrorists roasted Nigerians every day. If ethnicity or sectionalism should be the yardstick of appointing Army Chiefs, what did his kinsman, Gen. Ihejirika or, Minimah do when insurgents abducted 276 Chibok schoolgirls at a boarding hostel in Borno state. That over 100 of these Chibok schoolgirls have regained freedom is under the reign of Gen. Buratai. This is a soldiers serious with his assignment.
Unfortunately, Ihejirika and Minimah spent useful time debating the political forces which orchestrated the abduction of the Chibok girls, while terrorists successfully fled soldier to hideous camps as hostages. But the Nigerian troops led by Gen. Buratai immediately ransacked where 109 Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted by terrorists and rescued almost all of them.
Nwodo has forgotten that under Ihejirika, Nigeria had the worse and embarrassing moments with terrorists. Sad memories of terrorist exploits such as the historic Baga massacres, where an estimated 300 Nigerians were killed; the Nyanya motor park bomb explosions, the UN Building, the Police Headquarters’, the shopping mall in Wuse and many others were the signposts of the work of Nwodo’s sectional brothers from the South. But no Boko Haram bomb has exploded in Abuja since Gen. Buratai took over.
In 2014, Nigeria was embarrassed by Cameroun authorities for repatriating 480 troops back to the country who shirked from insurgents during a battle at a border town of Gambaru from what Army authorities shamelessly claimed it was “tactical manoeuvre.” Gen. Buratai has no such debasing records. So, who has performed better in securing Nigeria against terrorists?
It was under the Army’s leadership by these perceived Southerners that over 13, 000 were killed by insurgents in three years; over 20,000 were held hostage by terrorists and Boko Haram seized and occupied 17 LGAs in the Northeast in spite of the declaration of the state of emergency. The troops led by Gen. Buratai has reclaimed all the 17 LGAs under Boko Haram captivity and rescued over 16,000 Nigerians secretly held hostage by insurgents at various camps.
Ihejirika and the troops he commanded drread Sambisa forest, the safe haven of Boko Haram, now factional leader, Abubakar Shekau; but Gen. Buratai has demystified it by penetrating it to Camp Zero. So, if this is not effective leadership and hard work which deserves to be rewarded or qualify for elongation of tenure, then, Nwodo should cover his face in shame.
Maybe Nwodo was asleep and could not notice the poor performance of his ethnic or politicized security appointments or their helplessness in countering insurgency in Nigeria. These are irrefutable records.
It is absolutely pointless to vilify Gen. Buratai who came, took the bull by tthe horns and has proved his mettle beyond doubts Buratai crippled the capacity of terrorists to strike recklessly and confined insurgents operations to the remotest parts of the Lake Chad appointments oris easyarchitecture in warlords like Nwodo to pass negative comments on the security architecture in tthe country under the Buhari Presidency.
But it completely farcical for anyone, such as John Nnia Nwodo who sees nothing good in the office of the Chief of Army Staff to seek emptily berate a performing and hardworking hard working like Buratai.
Nigerians don’t care if Gen Buratai spends six-years as Chief of Army Staff, as long as he is winning the war on terror. What Nigerians want is result and that’s exactly what Gen. Buratai symbolizes in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the country. Nwodo’s argument for a politicized or ethnicized COAS is therefore watery, inconsequential and feeble to attract attention.
Kolawole PhD wrote from Keffi, Nasarawa State.