Obasanjo has been described as an embarrassment to the military, by
the Defence Headquarters.
The DHQ made the comment on Monday in a statement posted on its
Facebook page while reacting to a statement credited to the former
president that the 2015 general elections were postponed to enable
President Goodluck Jonathan use the service chiefs for tenure
extension.
The DHQ accused Obasanjo of politicizing serious national security and
military issues, adding that while his (Obasanjo's) intentions
remained unclear, his motives for making such utterances were less
than noble.
The statement, nonetheless, stressed that Obasanjo's claims were false.
The statement read in part, "The Defence Headquarters has noted the
remarks of a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as reported in
the media stating his views on perceived state of the armed forces and
the roles being allegedly played by the military in the nation's
political process in recent times.
"It is however noteworthy that most of his utterances lately indicate
an attitude of playing to the gallery or indulging in politicisation
of serious national security or military affairs. For instance, the
comments credited to Chief Obasanjo alleging that the postponement of
the General Elections was to enable President Jonathan use the Service
Chiefs to plot a tenure extension, is to say the least, very
surprising.
"It is surprising indeed, considering the fact that the retired
General chose to ignore the clarification and emphatic assurances of
non-partisanship of the military as declared in a DHQ statement on the
position of the Armed Forces in the ongoing political activities. His
motive as usual remains unknown but it is certainly less than noble or
well intentioned. We dare say again that Chief Obasanjo's assertions
are false.
"Much as the military desires to respect the old General and his
views, it has become necessary to point out that his conduct and
unguarded utterances of late has fallen short of the standard of
discipline expected of an individual who has had the privilege of
service in the military and risen to the status of a General.
"The behavior of retired General Obasanjo has been so unbecoming and
continues to constitute a serious embarrassment to the military before
all who have reasonably and rightly adjudged the essence of military
background in terms of the high value and standard it tends to
contribute to statesmanship.
"We feel constrained to remind the old General that the world has
moved beyond that parochial and self-adulating reasoning and mindset
which he seems stuck to. Indeed, he needs to be told that by virtue of
their better training, exposure, education, assessment and
environment, the military personnel of today are already far beyond
his level in their appreciation of democracy and it's indispensability
for the stable and prosperous society which Nigerians cherish".
The statement pointed out that the military institution bequeathed to
the country had developed beyond where Obasanjo left it and was more
committed to the maintenance of the ethos of service of the military,
valour, subordination to civil authorities and adherence to
nonpartisan discharge of their responsibilities.
The DHQ stressed that the military was not inept and could not have
been misused in the manner presented by the Owu chief.
The statement added that the military had such a strong belief in
democracy and its structures and institutions that it would not do
anything to undermine it.
It, therefore, challenged Obasanjo to indicate genuine interest in the
growth and sustenance of the nation's democracy as well as improve his
understanding of complex issues involving the military and to
encourage the services rather than imputing ulterior motives to
security efforts.
--infonaija
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