The Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was asked on his take on the opposition, labelling him a stooge of the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in an interview with KAYODE FALADE of Sunday Punch.
He said, "I think it is irrelevant. I cannot dignify that with a comment. What
anyone should do is look at my track record. In any event, when you look
at Tinubu, who is it that he has in any form supported that turned out
to be his stooge? Is it (Lagos State Governor, Babatunde) Fashola or
(former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode) Fayemi? Is it (Osun State
Governor, Rauf) Aregbesola or (Edo State Governor, Adams) Oshiomhole? Is
it (Oyo State Governor, Abiola) Ajimobi, (Ogun State Governor,
Ibikunle) Amosun or Wale Edun? These are individuals who have
contributed tremendously to the development of their states and the
development of this nation. And all you need to ask those who tell you
about stooges and all of that is, ‘Who are those men and women of
character who they have produced to serve in the same states where we
have served so creditably?’ I think the statement is not really worth
the comment."
When asked if he sought out Pastor Adeboye’s consent before accepting the nomination, he replied,
"I serve under the GO of the RCCG as a pastor. If I am going to take any
kind of action, especially an action that involves public service, it is
my duty to consult with him. It would be absolutely irresponsible of me
not to consult with him. And I have consulted with him."
On the issue of insecurity in the country, he stated, "I think the first problem is recognising
that you cannot deal with such a major assault on the integrity of the
nation when you are misrepresenting the facts. And one of the things
that the government, unfortunately, has done is to accuse the opposition
of being responsible for the Boko Haram (insurgency), which, of course,
has created a division. Look at everywhere else in the world where a
country has come under attack. What the government does is to ensure
that there is a bipartisan or a multi-party agreement on how to tackle
the problem. You don’t politicise the issue. In this case, the false
allegations made against the APC of being responsible for Boko Haram
(attacks), including allegations made against senior members of the
party by the government, first of all, created a distraction. Rather
than identify the real causes and issues surrounding the Boko Haram
(insurgency), they were busy labelling the APC. This, for me, is one of
the greatest disservices this administration has done to this nation.
The fact that, rather than focus on who the true enemy was, they waited
until Buhari was almost killed by the same Boko Haram before, they
started to rethink that allegation, is unfortunate. Whenever they find
it convenient, they just throw the allegation around.
I think that the first thing, when you
want to deal with a danger of such enormity to a nation, is that you
must be truthful, sincere and forthright. You must identify who the true
enemy is. The second is that you have to motivate and equip the
military and the Commander-in-Chief must lead from the front. You cannot
lead from behind. The people must see that just as you are saying to
them that they must be prepared to fight Boko Haram, you are also
prepared. It is apparent that our military is very disciplined. I have
said this many times, the Nigerian Army is one of the best in the world;
definitely one of the best in Africa. I served under UNOSOM 2 in
Mogadishu, Somalia; the head of the Police that took care of the entire
operation, Col. Pat Akem, was a Nigerian. He is now a brigadier. All of
the troops from other nations were under his care as the head of the
military police in that operation. The Representative of the United
Nations
Secretary-General in that mission always
insisted that Nigerians should be the one to guard him when he would go
out of the UN compound. Nigerian troops have distinguished themselves in
peacekeeping all over the world. It is unfortunate to hear terrible
stories that Boko Haram insurgents chased soldiers away and they are not
well-equipped or motivated. It is sad. If you want to win against an
insurgency, then you must arm the military well. That is what is
required. Look at the Chibok girls and all that has happened. Isn’t it
right for the Commander-in-Chief to visit the place? For me, I think
that these are some of the issues that boost morale, motivate the troops
and the nation. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
The third issue is that we must also
identify the fact that there seems to be a large pool from where these
Boko Haram members are continuously being recruited. What is the reason
for that? Many of our young people don’t have a stake in this society.
They are jobless; there are no opportunities. And then somebody comes to
them and says, ‘if you join us, whatever you steal or loot, including
women, is yours.’ That is a problem. I think what we ought to bear in
mind is that we must address some of the root causes, especially the
pool from which these people are constantly recruiting from. We must
address the problems of poverty and disillusionment among young people,
especially in those regions where Boko Haram has largely been operating
from. I believe that our government would be able to address those
issues seriously and comprehensibly. If we say, so far, trillions have
been spent on defence, and troops are complaining about bullets and
rounds of ammunition, then there is something gravely wrong."
On corruption, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said, "I think our nation is at a point where corruption is almost the norm,
especially in the public service. You and I know that that is probably
the rule; the exception is any kind of transparency or forthright
behaviour. But it is important to draw the line somewhere, because this
nation cannot continue with this level of corruption. It is just
impossible. I don’t think that people are born good. As a matter of
fact, my belief is that most people will do the wrong thing if there is
no consequence for their action. And the reason why we are here today is
that there is no consequence for the actions that people take — for
corruption, stealing, or anything of the sort. That is the reason why I
think that what is required, first of all, is an administration where
people believe that the number one man will not tolerate corruption. If
the number one man is perceived as a man that will not tolerate
corruption, then you have moved light years from where we are today. I
think that Buhari is somebody who is respected for his strong views on
corruption. What we need to introduce today is consequence for
corruption. If we don’t do that, frankly I am fearful that we may not
have much left of a country."
Culled from ...Punch
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