Obasanjo writes Buhari, warns of genocide

Nigeria’s ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has written a four-page open letter warning President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate action to prevent genocide in the nation.

The letter signed by Obasanjo’s spokesman, Mr Kehinde Akinyemi, is the third Obasanjo will be writing to Buhari.

Obasanjo said in the letter released on Monday that insecurity was “eroding the root of our Nigerian community’’.

“The issue I am addressing here is very serious; it is the issue of life and death for all of us and for our dear country, Nigeria.

This issue can no longer be ignored, treated with nonchalance, swept under the carpet or treated with cuddling glove.”

The ex-military and civilian president accused Buhari of “poor management or mismanagement of diversity” leading to a “very onerous cloud is gathering”

“And rain of destruction, violence, disaster and disunity can only be the outcome.’’

He said that the nation could no longer tolerate killings.

Obasanjo advised Buhari to convene a national conference to determine the future of Nigeria and to find solution to the security problem.

The letter came at a time when kidnapping and banditry were ruling, especially with the killing on Friday of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, daughter of the Afenifere leader, Reuben Fasoranti.

She was killed on the Lagos Benin Expressway by gunmen, causing an outrage with some leaders in South West attributing the crime to Fulani herdsmen.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has commiserated with Fasoranti and gave a marching order for the arrest of the culprits.

The police have announced the arrest of some suspects allegedly involved in the killing.

A spokesman for the Ondo State Police Command, Mr Femi Joseph, confirmed on Monday night that the suspects were arrested when a team of security operatives stormed the forests in the area near Ore in Ondo State.

The command’s spokesman, however, did not disclose the identities of those arrested.