Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, has said he would have entered the forest where pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire, Oyo State, were being held if he had been Nigeria’s president, insisting he would have ensured everyone was rescued.
Obi made the remarks during an interview on State of the Nation on Afia TV’s Eastern Eye, hosted by Alex Ogbodo and aired live on Thursday.
He said he would have responded to the abduction within two days, stressing that the forest where the victims were held was within Nigeria and should have been secured without delay.
He maintained that everyone in the camp would have been brought out, even if the operation resulted in casualties.
He also faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s handling of the incident, alleging that the president did not personally contact Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde throughout the more than 50 days the victims remained in captivity.
According to Obi, insecurity requires prompt and decisive leadership, adding that he would not have waited several weeks before taking action.
He further criticised what he described as the secrecy surrounding security operations in Nigeria, arguing that authorities should publicly present arrested criminal suspects to assure citizens that security agencies were achieving results, as is done in some other countries.
He revealed that during his tenure as governor of Anambra State, he confronted criminal activities in forests across the state after consulting former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He said he informed the former president that one particular forest had become a major security threat and insisted that criminal elements operating there had to be flushed out.
Obi also recalled that several notorious criminals were killed during security operations carried out while he was governor.
He maintained that effective leadership requires a clear chain of command and personal responsibility, stressing that only one person should be in charge of security decisions and that anyone seeking to lead must be prepared to bear the risks and responsibilities that come with the position.
“Days of kidnap of Oyo children, the president did not call the government. What do you mean? Fifty days.
“But I’ll be there in two days. Is the bush not in Nigeria? That bush they went into is in Nigeria. Everybody in that bush will come out. Everybody. There might be casualties, but everybody will come out.
“And it is time when we say we resolved something. We arrest some people. Parade the people. Let people see them. What is happening? When America or other countries kill people like that, they parade them. They show it. Everybody sees it. In Nigeria, everything is surrounded in secrecy.
He added, “No way. Is that I’m in charge? Are you people in charge? I go home. One person must be in charge. And if you’re in charge, if you want to lead, you should be ready to die. If you don’t want to, you go home. One person must be in charge.”
