Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that Nigerians should desist from blaming leaders over rising insecurity challenges in the country.

Mr Obasanjo advised that rather than blaming the leaders, Nigerians should come together to fight the challenges which he described as ‘everybody’s fault.

The former president called on Nigerians to fight the insurgence of kidnapping, banditry, cattle rustling and other security challenges with one voice.

Obasanjo said this on Saturday during a meeting with the leaders of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria (GAFDAN) in his residence at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, OOPL, Abeokuta.

He said other West African countries are worried about the insecurity situation in Nigeria as they have seen Nigeria as the giant of Africa.

The ex-president also noted that he had called for the meeting to find lasting solutions to the issue of kidnapping, banditry, Farmers/herders crisis and other insecurity challenges in the country.

“We want to make Nigeria forward irrespective of tribe, nobody will do it for us except we come out and do it together. Don’t blame everybody for our failure, everybody is faulty”. Obasanjo said.

“We are in darkness and we need to bring the light, those who want to be in darkness should remain there and those of us who want to stay in the light should bring ourselves together even if we are naked.

“Criminality, insecurity and other security problems, if this is what we are facing then this meeting should put a stop to it. Peace is what we want.

“Now we are ready to work, we don’t want what used to happen in Nigeria, we want to dialogue, we want to converse and we want to find lasting solutions to the issue of insecurity in our country,” he said.

In his remarks, National Chairman of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria, Mr Sale Bayari commended the former president for his leadership qualities.

Bayari, however, noted that kidnapping, banditry, cattle rustling and other security challenges may lead to jihadist militant groups if proper measures are not taken.

He said, the association had written several letters of complaint to the security chiefs but failed to get responses.

“We have written series of letter to security chiefs but we didn’t get response from them, we now begin to wonder maybe these security chiefs are not interested in the peace of the country, because there are some people who don’t want peace in this country, maybe they are doing it for selfish interest”.

Vanguard