Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed renewed calls for negotiations with bandits, insisting that Nigeria must confront rising insecurity with firm action and international support.
Speaking at the Plateau State Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival in Jos on Friday, Obasanjo urged the Federal Government to end what he described as a habit of apologising to, or negotiating with, terrorists.
His remarks come amid a surge in killings, abductions and violent attacks across several northern communities in recent weeks. Speaking at the event in Jos, Obasanjo expressed deep concern over the worsening security situation, saying Nigerians have every right to seek international help when government fails in its primary duty of protection.
“No matter what religion you belong to, no matter where you come from, no matter your profession, we Nigerians are being killed, and our government seems incapable of protecting us.
“We are part of the world community. If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community to do for us what our government cannot do,” he said.
Obasanjo added that unlike during his administration, modern technology now makes it far easier to track and eliminate terrorists in their hideouts.
“Before I left government, I knew we had the capacity to pick up anybody in Nigeria who committed a crime anywhere. The capacity we didn’t have then was the ability to apprehend such a criminal immediately after identifying and locating him, without first moving by land or air,” he stated. “Now we have capacity. With drones, we can sleeve them up. You can take them out. Why are we not doing that? Why are we apologising? Why are we negotiating?” Obasanjo asked, warning that Nigeria cannot defeat terror with timidity. He stressed that every day spent appealing to criminals is another day lost, insisting that the nation must choose courage over caution and action over appeasement.