Former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday, June 16, made some revelations about the early days of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria,
The elder statesman was told by the founders of the terrorist group that poverty and unemployment drove them into kicking off the insurgency.
Obasanjo however warned that the country’s over 20 million out-of-school children were a breeding ground for more ‘Boko Haram members of the future’ if not urgently attended to.
He stated these at the launch of a book titled, ‘Pillars of Statecraft: Nation-building in a changing world’ authored by his daughter, Dr Kofo Obasanjo-Blackshire, at an event in Lagos.
Reacting to a question by a member of the audience on why government policies had become more political than people-centred in recent times, Obasanjo said part of the country’s major problems was looking for scapegoats for its problems.
According to him: “During the early days of Boko Haram, when the man who started the movement was said to have been killed, I said I wanted to meet with the members of the group to talk to them and know what they wanted.
“I met with their representatives and found out that they needed nothing but a better life for themselves. Can we blame them for wanting a better life for themselves?
“They said they believed in Sharia Law. I told them that Sharia was not a problem in Nigeria. It is part of our constitution.”
Obasanjo further stated that some Boko Haram members informed him that they went to school but they had no jobs.
The former president argued that they shouldn’t be blamed for not getting a job after four years and they are entitled to livelihood.
He stated the role of governance and leadership and also maintain that the country must learn to face its problems rather than blaming others for them.
