14th December, 2021
Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, said expecting more from President Muhammadu Buhari is like beating a dead horse.
Daily Post reported that Obasanjo stated this in Abuja on Monday at a retreat on inclusive security organized by the Global Peace Foundation and Vision Africa.
According to Obasanjo, Buhari has done his best but he has nothing more to give.
“The truth is this: President Buhari has done his best. That is what he can do. If we are expecting anything more than what he has done or what he is doing, that means we’re whipping a dead horse and there is no need,” Daily Post quoted Obasanjo.
“Then, where do we go from here? We cannot fold our hands. I believe that is part of what we’re doing here and what we continue to be doing. How do we prepare for post-Buhari? Buhari has done his best. My prayer is that God will spare his life to see his term through.
“But what should we do to make post-Buhari better than what we have now? That is our responsibility now because it concerns all of us.”
Obasanjo also said military action alone would not end the insurgency in the country.
He advised that the ‘stick-and-carrot’ approach must be deployed to achieve a desirable result.
He said: “People talk of political will, but I talk of political action. Political will is not enough. It must be matched by political action.
“The problem of insurgency will not go away if all we are using is the ‘stick’ (military action). We may suppress it, and keep it down a bit, but we have to use ‘carrot and stick’ together to effectively tackle the problems.”
Obasanjo also advocated state policing.
He said: “Security in Nigeria is local, it must be addressed locally. Legislation should be able to tackle that before the next election.”