The events on Tuesday, 20 October 2020, which led to the #LekkiMassacre is one that will never be forgotten in the history of this nation. The cruelty that was meted out on young Nigerians at the Lekki Toll-Gate for demanding better living conditions has had several prominent figures, including former president Olusegun Obasanjo, calling on Buhari’s government to put an end to the needless killings of the youth.
In his customary way of addressing issues of national importance, Obasanjo drafted an open letter to express his concerns over the state of anarchy the nation has been plunged into while calling on President Buhari to restrain the military from using brute force on the youth to avoid exacerbating the already fragile polity.
His letter partly reads:
“It is with a heavy heart and a deep sense of concern about the ongoing violence, chaos, and unrest in many parts of Nigeria that I make this appeal to the government and the people of our dear country, Nigeria, to eschew violence and embrace peace and dialogue in finding solutions to the challenges we face as a country.
“I particularly to President Muhammadu Buhari, in his capacity as President of Nigeria, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and as a parent of youth like the ones who have in the last week come out in peaceful protest against police brutality and for improvement in their lives and their living condition, to restrain the military and other security agencies from using brute force as a way of ending the crisis.”
Read the full letter here:
Great advice, indeed! However, history reminds us that Obasanjo’s administration was no different from the reality in the current administration when we recall the “Odi massacre” which happened on November 20, 1999. The Nigerian military acting on the orders of then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, invaded Odi, an Ijaw community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State; killing unarmed civilians and burning down the entire-community, according to reports.
Unfortunately, the order to wipe out the little town was in response to the killing of twelve policemen and an ambush of soldiers by a militia that used the civilian population of Odi as its cover.
Odi laid in ruins; with decomposing bodies on the streets and houses up in flames following the massacre that lasted for days, causing survivors to flee the town.
Hundreds of innocent civilians were reported dead, but the government insisted that only 43 persons were killed, including eight soldiers.
Unfortunately, Nigerians are suffering a similar fate today in the hands of the powers that be.
Obasanjo always seems too eager and ready to ‘advice’ erring leaders which is a good thing in itself. But it would do us well to remember that he was no saint himself.
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