Boko Haram: Obasanjo leads Colombian security experts to Buhari

October 12, 2015Talatu Usman

FROM LEFT: MEMBER OF A DELEGATION FROM THE BRETHURST FOUNDATION, DR GREG MILLS; FORMER PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO; ASSOCIATE MEMBER, THE BRENTHURST FOUNDATION, MAJ.-GEN. DICKIE DAVIS; LEADER OF THE DELEGATION, MR JONATHAN OPPENHEIMER, AND PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, DURING A PRESENTATION TO PRESIDENT BUHARI BY THE BRETHURST FOUNDATION, AT THE PRESIDENTIAL VILLA IN ABUJA

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday led a team of Colombian security experts to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari, towards sharing professional expertise on security and counter terrorism.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting at the presidential villa, Mr. Obasanjo said Nigeria needed to learn how Colombia survived insurgency for more than 50 years.

“We want to see what has kept them going. What has made the government of Columbia to make three attempts to seek peace, to end the war and insurgency and they failed. What are the new efforts that they are making? How likely are those new efforts going to succeed,” the former president said.

Mr. Obasanjo said the president gave the team a listening ear, and was “anxious to learn”.

“One thing you can say about the president is that he is anxious to learn and he has listening ears. Of course, nobody knows it all. A good leader must seek every opportunity to learn and to put what he learns into practice,” said Mr. Obasanjo.

On the deadline given to Nigeria’s military chiefs to defeat Boko Haram, Mr. Obasanjo said the deadline was meant to encourage them to crush the sect.

“The president must give a target. When you give somebody a target, you give him something to aspire to, giving him an objective. Target is not cast in stone. I believe that if you are talking of getting the upper hand, gradually, we are getting the upper hand.

“We are not there yet but we are getting close. And once we are getting upper hand, we move on and do other things,” he said.

The former president said he also briefed Mr. Buhari on his assignment as special envoy to Guinea Bissau.

“The last time we were able to resolve all the issues of getting a new prime minister (in Guinea Bissau). This time, we had also been able to resolve the issue of forming a new government.

“If nothing happens, I believe between today and tomorrow, a new government will be in place in Guinea Bissau. They have been without government for almost two months,” he said.

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naubiko

Why can’t Baba Iyabo leave PMB alone? Na wetin? Wentin he keep inside this Aso rock that he cannot just give the man a breathing space?
Höly Wähala

Orisiewu Obusonjo should stop acting as the “Assistant President of Nigeria” and leave the duly elected President Buhari alone to do his job. Columbia that has not been able to defeat FARC terrorists have absolutely nothing to teach Nigeria if not compound our problems with hard drug smugglers. Ota Gorilla needs to go back to his illegally acquired farm and quit meddling in the business of governance in eye-service efforts to avoid being probed for Haliburtton bribe Tesler accused him of. First, he was sent to Burkina Farso, he next smuggled himself into New York for the UNGA meeting he was nötig invited, now inviting needless Columbians and roaming around Aso Villa is one too many unsolicited moves to hijack “changi” for selfish aggrandization. Enough of Obasanjo biko, he is not the only ex-President in Nigeria today but certainly the most corrupt Chimp alive. Olosi!
- PADDY-PEN -POWER
  
  NO MATTER WHAT, OBASANJO DESERVES THE RESPECT OF AN ELDERLY STATES MAN. THOSE WHO INSULT ELDERS NEVER LIVE TO SEE OLD AGE. YOU’RE CURSED AS IT IS ! YOU CAN AIR YOU VIEWS WITHOUT INSULTING HIM. ANYWAY, IT IS EASY TO KNOW ABANDONED CHILDREN WHO WERE NOT RAISED IN A PROPER FAMILY SETTING. ONE OF THEIR CHARACTERISTICS IS THAT THEY LACK HOME TRAINING. SHAME ON YOU.
  - Chuks Rose
    
    God forgive you
  - Ayemi
    
    Why are you deceiving yourself like this? “Ibi agba ni a maa n ba agba”, which literally means we meet the elders in higher places. Any elder who behaves like obj should be dragged in the mould. Is obj the only elder in Nigeria? Why does he keep going to Aso Rock all the time, what is his mission there? What did he use his 8 years of tenure for? Nothing, absolutely nothing! Corruption upon corruption, 419 over 419, stealing over stealing, killing everywhere. Pls could you tell your elder to go and settle down in his Ota farm? why is he running up and down? Camouflaging!!! Any security thing like this should be kept secret to handle BK, if at all the result is going to yield something positive for the nation. Obasanjo shd let this man do what he wants to do. All simple and easy things that we need right now are social security number, surveillance camera all over the nation, availability of electricity , food and water.
EBI De blessed

OBJ ! you cant deceived Nigerians; Boko Haram is a self made / self invented problem which every Nigerian is aware of ; including the President whom you are claiming to curry favour from. Every time you want to be relevance ,now you are singing praises ;by the time you will not be listened to ,you will sent a lenghty open letter to him.
Very Proud Oily Izon Redeemer

Nigerians can now understand why Obj never gave Jonathan a chance to survive—How many times has he visited Aso Rock within the last few months—–?–‘ Was he given that chance by Jonathan-to market such fake ideas?-How can a man who claim to be an International negotiator not know the difference between Boko Haram and the communist rebels fighting in Colombia for freedom? THE WAR IN NIGERIA with Boko HARAM has a religious undertone—The fighters are jihadist Fulani groups–That of Colombia has nothing to do with religion– In their case the rebels recruit fighters from every ethnic group in their Country—Unlike Nigeria—where the boko haram war is being waged by the Fulanis under the cover of the Kanuris—Shekau is Fulani born in Borno state————– However Obj is trying to win a big contract with the Colombians———-This was the man who said he was going to negotiate with Boko Haram——during the era of Jonathan—————–So what went wrong—why is he not talking to them any more?—–A clear indication that Obj was just playing on the intelligence of Nigerians—-Is this not Obj whose fake NGO was caught in a money laundering exercise—in London with Lebanese Nationals recently? How far did the case go–No where———————-That is Nigeria for u–If an Ijaw man had been caught in such acts–the Fulanis Ibos and Yorubas would have chased him to oblivion–same as they are now doing with Mrs– Madueke–in London—separation is the answer not the marketing of these fake ideas from rogues like Obj—–
- Lanre
  
  I just sighed when I read this report. Obviously somebody in Premium Times likes Obasanjo. Please go and do your online research and find out about the Brenthurst Foundation and those behind it. General Dickie Davis who just recently retired from the British Army does some work for the foundation. Everything is online. There are no colombians here. The foundation (like every other think tank out there, did some work on Colombia). Obasanjo trying to seek relevance tells the onyibos there how powerful he is in Nigeria and rushes to Buhari to tell him his new found discovery. I have seen this crap before. Its all nonsense. Obasanjo needs to be (should be) in jail for the rest of his life.
- Buhari4Ever
  
  Why should Obasanjo visit an ingrate like GEJ? Were people like you, Asari Dokubo, Orubebe, Edwin Clarke not raining insults on him for making your unqualified son the president?
- Abidilagungun
  
  so Obj is planning ATM for a 50-year insurgency?
Lanre

419 started during the military era of Ibrahim Babangida and became a second nature under Sani Abacha. It is not coincidence that drug pushing and 419 became very popular under the regimes of Buhari to Obasanjo (1999-2007).
emmanuel

An unrepentant bastard who troubles Nigeria. Columbia? Are we talking about Drugs and mafiaso?
Obasanjo is a multi-distraction and a senile old man
Nwa Aba {Proud Biafran}

We have got useless war Generals like OBJ and PMB
why Columbia?
- Nagoma
  
  Hahaha! It is understandable why they may be useless to you. Please take the records strait, PMB participated actively in crushing beer-fracas while OBJ was the one who received the instruments of surrender from remnants of the Igbo fighters. Chai-hooo!
  - Nwa Aba {Proud Biafran}
    
    With their credentials in crushing Biafra Zaki-Biam Odi
    My question is why going to Columbia?
    - Nagoma
      
      Can you please patiently and carefully read the story once again? let me summarise it for you … to enable Nigeria tap from Columbia’s 50 years experience in dealing with insurgency and terrorism. Why do you think Nigeria can not learn anything from that country? For goodness sake, let Nigeria keep learning even if it is from Benin republic. For your info, a wise giant can kneel down before an experienced dwarf to tap knowledge, eventually, the giant would stand up empowered and without loosing an mm of height or mg of weight. For the wise, everyday is a school, to learn from someone or to teach someone. Neither pride nor arrogance are necessary for an individual’s life or for a nation.
dokita

General Obasanjo’s continual ignorance

Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo is too ignorant, far too ignorant, to lead anything. He does not think much.
He does not have relevant education for what he endeavors; too local and rustic, an un-funny jester.
What’s the connection between Colombia’s civil war and Boko Haram’s Islamic state revolution? None!
Obasanjo is just messing up and looking for contracts from this senseless mis-adventure in Colombia.
But because President Buhari does not know better in his own cave world, he sees international links.
Whereas, there’s no simply no international link whatsoever. Nigeria faces an Islamic State revolution!
- DazzlingSmile
  
  Don’t kill yourself with high blood pressure. Non of your family member would have done better
Analyst

Buhari should beware of obj. The man will soon write a public letter again.
Abidilagungun

Security experts and tthey have been at it for all of fifty years! Is Obj planning for a 50-year insurgency? I thought the idea was that boko haram is a ragtag army that can be flushed out in months. We dont need Colombians to teach us to survive an insurgency, the Irish could well teach us
- e_orpheus
  
  There’s always something to learn. Perhaps in this case it’s how not to tackle an insurgency. In the event that we’re taking the same steps Columbia did that allowed their fight last this long, we can begin to look for alternative measures that will more likely yield enduring fruits.
Joe igbokwe

I SUPPORT THESE EFFORTS BY THE FORMER PRESIDENT TO HELP BUHARI TO SUCCEED . EXPERIENCE CANNOT BE LEARNT FROM TEXTBOOKS ALONE. YOU DO NOT NEED TO REINVENT THE WHEEL. LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS. SAVE MONEY , LIVES AND TIME . A CANDLE LOSES NOTHING BY LIGHTING ANOTHER ONE. OBASANJO IS DOING HIS WORK AS AN ELDER STATESMAN . OBASANJO IS DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE FOR PRESIDENT BUHARI TO SUCCEED AND I LIKE HIM FOR THIS. PRESIDENT BUAHARI MUST NOT FAIL.
- okenwa
  
  What are they learning from a country that fought insurgent more than fifty years without success.
Ed

President Buhari should stop answering Obj and El Rogues of Kaduna. 2 bad company to keep.
tundemash

OBJ the security contractor now …… where is that LIDITEMI cl0wn who claimed to be writing a 7500 pages book on the Ota gorrila , i hope he includes this ew profession of a security middle-man!
Chukwuka Okoroafor

It appears that former President Obasanjo has lost it. To him, we should prepare for 50 years of insurgency. Wow! That should tell us that there are people making fortunes from this insurgency.
vincentumenyiora

I wouldn’t post comment on this issue earlier because I considered it insulting really that Nigeria should go to the length to bring the Colombian people to direct us about insurgency! You wonder then, what is all that claim that they worn the civil war in Nigeria about, if they cannot figure out why we have the insurgency in the North-East and (even when) we hear that those who aid and abet them work within the administrative set up in Nigeria, folks? However, we see that the President’s directive is working whether it is from the Colombian tacticians or not we may yet know! My concern is really why should Nigeria go to engage foreign country like Colombia when it was British government that merged the region to Nigeria and rather than call Britain to come and help Obasanjo is negotiating for the Colombians to do the job and probably on a cost, which by Nigeria’s standard must gulp huge sum of US Dollars, folks! The question is therefore: When do these leaders what Nigerians to begin to work so as given time, we shall producing experts in the country? We are happy that so far there is lull in the zone suggesting that the boys are really tackling the problem posed – we say up you but please open up the solid mineral prospecting programme and agriculture to now include ranches and orchards for selected fruits we have growing wildly in the country yet required in Europe and America so as to take these boys off the roads!
vincentumenyiora

Don’t get me wrong here, folks, I am thinking about the cost and distance (if it is for free well) and above all, how do our boys put what they know already into practice and we do not forget that OBJ and the other past Heads of State all ex-Military officers, was in office all this while and moreover still attends the Council of State Meetings! It throws up really the curiosity, What the issues discussed in the Council Meetings if security for Nigeria is not major part of the Agenda!
vincentumenyiora

I mean, by OBJ rating boko-haram with Colombian redoubtable group are we not according our own insurgency a pride of place; behold we are now told how much fund was allocated for the assignment to tackle the problem yet nothing done to that effect and OBJ goes to Colombia to bring experts to help us in Nigeria! OBJ should be showing concern about the revelation regarding the huge sum of US Dollar provided for the North-east yet nothing done to check on the spread of their activities!