Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on
Thursday warned the Nigerian military not to “play Public Relations
propaganda” with the abduction of over 200 female pupils of the
Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.
Obasanjo said this in a Channels Television news monitored in Lagos on Thursday night.
Asked to react to comments made by the
Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, that the Nigerian
military knew the whereabouts of the abducted girls, Obasanjo said,
“This is not an issue that you will play public relations propaganda
with.
“It is a serious issue that is like a
spear in the heart of the parents and whatever statement we make and
action we take, if it will not really deal with the issue in a way that
will bring those girls out safe and secure and make their families happy
and will also give every Nigerian a sense of security, then such
statements should not be made,” he said.
He said that he would be pleasantly surprised if the Chibok girls were “returned intact.”
Asked to confirm whether or not he met
with some relations of the Boko Haram leaders, Obasanjo said that he was
planning to inform President Goodluck Jonathan before holding talks on
the Chibok girls “but was surprised at how certain meetings have turned
out.”
“I cannot have a plan without the Presidency being involved,” he said.
He added that he was not “going on a one
-man mission,” to rescue the kidnapped girls, insisting that doing so
would be “idiotic.”
Obasanjo said he was beaten by Shehu Sani to letting the state and national authorities know the meeting had taken place.
He added, “I have to involve the
President and he also tells me this is what we are doing or this is what
we are pursuing either in addition or along with what we are doing or
not”.
Reacting to President Jonathan’s
allegation that the abduction of the girls was done to bring down his
government, Obasanjo said such thought was “unfortunate.”
“If the Presidency is obsessed with one
thing and one thing only and any other thing of concern to Nigeria is
secondary then the Presidency will take that position, then this will be
unfortunate,” he said.
