By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region Editor
Dr Junaid Mohammed, a Second Republic federal lawmaker, was also a member of the 2014 National Conference convoked by the Goodluck Jonathan administration to find solutions to Nigeria’s nagging challenges. Known for speaking his mind on topical issues no matter whose ox is gored, Junaid, a medical doctor turned politician, in this interview, reviews the latest letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Obasanjo



Excerpts:
What do you make of the latest letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari?
As far as I am concerned, this latest letter written by Obasanjo, who is supposed to be an elder statesman having been the President of this country twice, is most unhelpful and clearly mischievous. Look, for a nation going through not only very traumatic moment but also grappling with economic, security and very many other challenges, Obasanjo’s letter is the least anybody could have done to give the impression that he wants to be perpetually relevant. Yes, it is necessary that people in government need to be told what the mood in the land is and what they need to do in order to satisfy the needs of the citizenry. But I must say that what Obasanjo has done does not, in any way, promote national consciousness and merely tilted to promoting self-interest. His so-called letter was clearly ill-timed, written purposely to inflict maximum damage on the country. For a man in his 80s, who has been blessed with good health and has also benefited from this country more than any other individual that I know of, to come and make the kind of statement he made was clearly an act of disservice.
If you examine some of the issues he touched on such as security and economy, you would discover that Obasanjo was quite economical with the truth. If you look at what he calls Fulanisation and Islamisation of Nigeria, one would see that he is not only ignorant in his view but also mischievous as a former Head of State. I am certain that if Obasanjo’s motive is to use his so-called letters to blackmail the Buhari government, which is not my government because I am not in Buhari’s party, he has failed because these letters are banal, illogical and futile. The so-called letters do not enlighten anybody in or outside Nigeria. I suspect that Obasanjo simply believes that by writing the series of letters to Buhari, he would be able to blackmail the government or the country and get something; perhaps, what he has been craving for all the while, something that is relevant to him. But I can assure him that even within his Yoruba race, he cannot get anything out of them. Obasanjo should be very careful about what he says concerning Fulani herdsmen and land matters because he is one of the biggest owners of land in this country and should know that whatever he says has the potential to influence certain actions.
Again, because of the positions that he has occupied in this country, the former Head of State should be concerned about his actions and utterances. That is why I find what he said outrightly false and condemnable and I believe that someday, he is going to be held to account either in life or perhaps he is going to be called to account by history. I want those who are inciting and heating up the polity to realise that if by their actions and utterances, war breaks out today, all of them would be affected just like other Nigerians. I do not see how they can easily escape the war that their actions can trigger and leave others behind to be roasted. That is why every Nigerian must be extremely careful in what they say and