President Goodluck Jonathan came under attack yesterday as Nigerians reviewed Sunday’s Presidential Media Chat.

Dr. Jonathan spoke on various issues, including Boko Haram, fuel subsidy and infrastructure, among others, during the two-hour broadcast on national television.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo fired a broadside at Dr. Jonathan over his comment on his administration’s military action Obi in 1999.

Opposition parties – Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) – crtiticised the President’s response to some of the questions he fielded from the editors.

The AC N said the President and his aides had been flip flopping on crucial national issues.

The ANPP said the President evaded questions that would have enabled him to lay many controversial national issues to rest.

But the President’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that opposition parties were spreading “cheap lies” and trying to distance the country.

Ex-President Obasanjo defended his administration’s deployment of troops in Odi, a Bayelsa State community, in 1999, saying it achieved the purpose, which was to “uproot” the operational base of a terrorist group.

He said President Jonathan was wrong to have claimed during the Presidential Media Chat that the invasion was a failure.

Jonathan was Bayelsa’s Deputy Governor during the military action.

Obasanjo also justified the use of force in Zaki Biam, Benue State, following the killing of 19 soldiers by suspected terrorists.

In a statement issued through his former spokesman, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, Obasanjo said Jonathan must have forgotten the facts about Odi or was misinformed.

To him, the President should rather learn lessons from the actions on how to deal with terrorists.

Jonathan had said: “We saw some dead people, mainly old men and women and also children. None of those militants was killed. None was killed. So, bombarding Odi was to solve the problem but it never solved it.

“Of course if the attack of Odi had solved the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta, the Yar’Adua government, which I had the privilege of being the Vice-President, wouldn’t have come up with the amnesty programme.”

But Obasanjo said Jonathan was wrong in the assertion, which he called “a serious charge” against him.

According to him, the operation, which he ordered in response to the killing of five policemen and four soldiers by suspected Niger Delta militants, was carried out with military precision and efficiency.

Contrary to Jonathan’s statement, the objectives of the soldiers’ deployment “were fully achieved”, Obasanjo said.

The former President claimed it was “factually incorrect” for Jonathan to say that all he saw in Odi after he went there on an official visit as deputy governor were the bodies of old people and children.

Obasanjo urged Jonathan’s administration to cultivate the courage and the political will to tackle the security challenges posed by the Boko Haram sect.

While in power, the former President said, he handled such matters “decisively, with vigour and with the utmost urgency”.

He said: “With the greatest respect to Mr. President, this is factually incorrect. He has either forgotten the relevant facts or he has been misinformed. Whichever way, he is mistaken and it is important for those of us that proudly served the Obasanjo administration to respond to him in order to clarify the issues, clear the air and set the record straight for the sake of history and posterity.

“I had the privilege of being briefed about all the facts by President Olusegun Obasanjo himself and Col. Kayode Are, the former DG of the SSS, immediately after the Presidential Media Chat and I believe that it is appropriate to share some of those facts with members of the Nigerian public, given the grave assertion and serious charge that President Jonathan has made. Those facts are as follows.

“Five policemen and four soldiers were killed by a group of Niger Delta militants when they tried to enter the town of Odi in Bayelsa State in order to effect their arrest. This happened in 1999.

“After the brutal killing of these security personnel, President Olusegun Obasanjo asked the then Governor of Bayelsa State, Governor Alamiyeseigha, to identify, locate, apprehend and hand over the perpetrators of that crime.

“The Governor said that he was unable to do so and President Obasanjo, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, took the position that security personnel could not be killed with impunity under his watch without a strong and appropriate response from the Federal Government.

“Consequently, he sent the military in to uproot and kill the terrorists and to destroy their operational base, which was the town of Odi. The operation was carried out with military precision and efficiency and its objectives were fully achieved.”

Fani-Kayode said the military operation led to the dislodgment of the terrorist group.

The statement added: “The terrorists were either killed and those that were not killed fled their operational base in Odi, were uprooted, were weakened, were demoralised and were completely dispersed. That was the purpose of the whole exercise and that purpose was achieved.

“The truth is that the killing of security agents and soldiers with impunity by the Niger Delta militants virtually stopped after the operation in Odi and remained at a bare minimum right up until the time that President Obasanjo left power eight years later in 2007. I advise those that doubt this to go and check the records.

“The same thing was done in Zaki Biam in Benue State in the North-central zone of Nigeria in 2001 after 19 soldiers were murdered in cold blood and then brutally beheaded by some terrorists from that area. Again, after the Federal Government’s strong military response in Zaki Biam, the killing of security personnel with impunity stopped.

“The objectives of the military operations in both Odi and Zaki Biam were to stop such killings, to eliminate and deal a fatal blow to those that perpetuated them and to discourage those that may seek to carry out such barbarous butchery and mindless violence in the future. Those were the objectives and nothing more and clearly those objectives were achieved.

“There is no doubt that after Odi there was still unrest, agitations, protests, kidnappings and the blowing up and sabotage of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta area but there were hardly any more attacks on or killing of soldiers and security personnel by the terrorists and militants because they knew that to do that would attract a swift and forceful reaction and terrible retribution from the Nigerian military.

“To stop and deter those attacks and killings was the objective of President Obasanjo and that objective was achieved.

“President Goodluck Jonathan was, therefore, in error when he said that Odi did not solve the problem of killings in the Niger Delta area by the Niger Delta militants.

“Not only did it stop the killings, but it is also an eloquent testimony of how to deal with terrorists, how to handle those that kill our security personnel with impunity and how to deter militants from killing members of our civilian population and thinking that they can get away with it.

“If President Obasanjo had not taken that strong action at that time many more of our civilian population and security personnel would have been killed by the Niger Delta militants between 1999 and 2007.

“By doing what he did at Odi and Zaki Biam, President Obasanjo saved the lives of many and put a stop to the killings and terrorism that had taken root in the Niger Delta area previous to that time.”

Besides, Fani-Kayode said Obasanjo was actually misquoted, as he never recommended that the “Odi treatment” should be adopted to quell Boko Haram insurgency.

He said: “On the issue of Boko Haram, it is unfortunate that President Obasanjo’s comments have been misconstrued and his views misrepresented. He never said that the Odi treatment should be applied to Boko Haram or that such action is appropriate in these circumstances.

“What he said was that a solution ought to have been found or some sort of action ought to have been taken sooner rather than allow the problem to fester over time like a bad wound and get worse.

“There can be no doubt that he was right on this because, according to President Jonathan’s own Chief of Army Staff, no less that 3000 people have been killed by Boko Haram in the last two years alone.

“That figure represents approximately the same number of people that were killed by the IRA in Northern Ireland and the British mainland in the 100 years that the war between them and British lasted and before peace was achieved between the two sides.

“The same number of casualties that the IRA inflicted on the people of the United Kingdom in 100 years is the same number of casualties that Boko Haram has managed to inflict on our people in just two. This is unacceptable and it is very disturbing.

“The Federal Government must cultivate the courage and the political will to stop the killings by Boko Haram and to find a permanent solution to the problem.

“When President Obasanjo was in power he handled such matters decisively, with vigour and with the utmost urgency.

“He brought justice to the perpetrators quickly and promptly and he did whatever he had to do to protect the lives and property of the Nigerian people.

“The truth is that the strategy that he adopted to fight terrorism and mass murder worked very well and it was very effective. For President Goodluck Jonathan to suggest otherwise is regrettable.”

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/news/jonathan-under-attack/

The Collateral damage from both the Odi and Zaki Biam operations were unacceptably high. Killing unarmed civilians just to make statement is unacceptable..

Fani-Kayode should have commented on the number of innocent men, women and children who lost their lives in both operations.

I agree with GEJ on this one...

ODI was a failure!!!

GARRI (x7):
The Collateral damage from both the Odi and Zaki Biam operations were unacceptably high. Killing unarmed civilians just to make statement is unacceptable..

Fani-Kayode should have commented on the number of innocent men, women and children who lost their lives in both operations.

I agree with GEJ on this one...

ODI was a failure!!!

Your moniker alone speaks for the odious stupidi.ty that oozes from your maggoty orifice! So, it is okay for criminals to kill several soldiers and police, who have wives, children and family but when the government responds with force, it is wrong? Is the life of the ones killed by the criminals > soldiers and police? BH kills several civilians in the most violent way but that is not too much of a crime but when the soldiers respond with more violent killings, somehow they are guilty for killing the families of the BHaramites?

CyberG:
[s]
Your moniker alone speaks for the odious stupidi.ty that oozes from your maggoty orifice! [/s] So, it is okay for criminals to kill several soldiers and police, who have wives, children and family but when the government responds with force, it is wrong? Is the life of the ones killed by the criminals > soldiers and police? BH kills several civilians in the most violent way but that is not too much of a crime but when the soldiers respond with more violent killings, somehow they are guilty for killing the families of the BHaramites?

I'm trying hard not to allow folks like you negatively influence my manners, so I'll ignore ur insults.

Please read my post again and highlight where I said it's ok for criminals to kill soldiers and policemen...

GARRI (x7):
The Collateral damage from both the Odi and Zaki Biam operations were unacceptably high. Killing unarmed civilians just to make statement is unacceptable..

Fani-Kayode should have commented on the number of innocent men, women and children who lost their lives in both operations.

I agree with GEJ on this one...

ODI was a failure!!!

Where OBJ cruised through with bravery GEJ is stuck and as expected of him he prefers to go criticise the OBJ approach in order to justify the glaring flaws in his handling of his fellow PDP member going wild - BH.

Retardeen Jonathan exposed for his cluelessness again,

Instead of taking decisive actions against Boko Haram terrorist he is asking us to Pray and handle them with Kids gloves

Maybe Obama had a reason for not negotiating with terrorists afterall

GARRI(x7), maybe I should let you know that it is not untill u specifically say it before we'll know what you insinuate. I pray your one of your close relative will be among the next set of security personel that BH will murder, then you will understand what I means to take decisive action on terrorists and terrorism.

exposing his cluelessness again

Hypocrisy of the highest magnitude being displayed with reckless abandon , OBJ sent soldiers to Odi and the victims were old women , old men and innocent children . He again sent soldiers to zaki bbiam and the victims were innocent young men who were invited by the soldiers to come for a peace meeting in the village square . Yet when OPC killed policemen in Lagos and ogun state OBJ again displayed his real color of selective justice preferring to arrest Gani Adams only to release him before elections . When the Sam OBJ was in power and their was sharia crisis all over the north west , he preferred to call it a political sharia which will go away with time even when innocent Nigerians where been killed by fanatical mobs OBJ did not intervene with soldiers preferring to call south east governors who who were calling for confederation mischievous . Who is really deceiving who?
If there is trouble in Kano or Borno he says it is political sharia and when the Sam thing happens in plateau he declares state of Emergency . Useless Antichrist who has success in his 8 years reign is to sleep with his daughter in law and to crown it all ended up making his son a divorcee

One thing in life is sometimes ur affiliation to an individual or political party will hardly make one to be objectively unbiased. Some of u were already crying foul wen amnesty international said they hv a video of JTF extra-judicially killing people in Borno state even wen u havent seen d video. And see u here naw saying OBJ was right.GEJ doesnt hv d balls bla bla. Take it frm me.Boko haram fight is succeeding.Who knows if Boko haram were d one executing pipu just to attract sympathy.Where on earth except Naija hv u heard that a whole village was brought down bcuz some miscreants killed police or military officers. U use intelligent undercovers. GEJ shud keep doing what hez doing afterall their base in Mali has been identified.Next is to dismantle them there n daz wasup guyz not killing innocent pipu just to show u can shoot.

toksade: GARRI(x7), maybe I should let you know that it is not untill u specifically say it before we'll know what you insinuate. I pray your one of your close relative will be among the next set of security personel that BH will murder, then you will understand what I means to take decisive action on terrorists and terrorism.

I'm not against decisive action being taken against terrorists. Infact one of my major grouse with GEJ is his refusal to name and prosecute the sponsors of BH...

If ur innocent parents were murdered and ur wife and sisters rap.ed by soldiers while "carrying out decisive action" against BH or any criminal group would you ßξ saying the thrash above..??

I pray also that someday ur children will be killed and ur wife rap.ed by security forces while they try to fight criminals....

ODE!!

My stand remains as I originally said...

GARRI (x7):
The Collateral damage from both the Odi and Zaki Biam operations were unacceptably high. Killing unarmed civilians just to make statement is unacceptable..

Fani-Kayode should have commented on the number of innocent men, women and children who lost their lives in both operations.

I agree with GEJ on this one...

ODI was a failure!!!

My apologies to those I've insulted as well as those I will insult on this thread. I tried to be civil, but some swines won't let me be..

I'll ßξ glad if you ferociously attack my opinion (if you believe it lacks substance), but attacking my personality is a NO-NO.....

Who think GEJ is clueless and dumb is only carried away with his outlook; GEJ is negatively intelligent - he would ve wiped out BH since the beginning of his term but he enjoys the politics of slander against Buhari and the North which flourish as long as BH continues. Its all politics from the violence after the 2011 elections where GEJ in his negative intelligence allowed the killing of corpers to smear the name of Buhari as if that is not enough on Oct 1 the first bomb blast was claimed by MEND but GEJ with d boldness of prostitute absolved MEND of the act while secretly politicizing the killing in a way to serially blame the opposition. When BH became a full blown cancer, GEJ needed that violence more than the devil - he need those blood more than a blood bank - he need to destroy the name of Buhari and the North;if it will claim 3000 souls or more to achieve it he won't mind - infact he doesn't give a damn. GEJ can stamp out BH in one day but dat is like a political ejaculation - GEJ will not want to cum yet he is enjoying d feeling.

.

Politics, what a dirty game.

kettykin: Hypocrisy of the highest magnitude being displayed with reckless abandon , OBJ sent soldiers to Odi and the victims were old women , old men and innocent children . He again sent soldiers to zaki bbiam and the victims were innocent young men who were invited by the soldiers to come for a peace meeting in the village square . Yet when OPC killed policemen in Lagos and ogun state OBJ again displayed his real color of selective justice preferring to arrest Gani Adams only to release him before elections . When the Sam OBJ was in power and their was sharia crisis all over the north west , he preferred to call it a political sharia which will go away with time even when innocent Nigerians where been killed by fanatical mobs OBJ did not intervene with soldiers preferring to call south east governors who who were calling for confederation mischievous . Who is really deceiving who?
If there is trouble in Kano or Borno he says it is political sharia and when the Sam thing happens in plateau he declares state of Emergency . Useless Antichrist who has success in his 8 years reign is to sleep with his daughter in law and to crown it all ended up making his son a divorcee

The people of Odi and Zaki bbiam are accomplice in the killing of the security personnels I happen to know somebody who is part of the operation and family of one of the mudered person at Zaki bbiam. The terrorist are living with them and they refuse to cooperate with investigations. who will you blame for death of women and children in Afghanistan that harbour terrorist and were killed with them? Some communities are actually inhuman, imagine what happened at Aluu of recent majority of us was calling for the heads of people living in the community. Yorubas did not habour, aid and abbet OPC in perpetrating violence that is why it is easy to arrest the leader.

While I agree with GEJ that the collateral damage through the military action on Odi and Zaki Biam was uncalled for, GEJ should also be held responsible for the growth of militancy in the ND. It is a known fact that the meteoric rise of militancy in the ND was sponsored by the then Governors of SS and its leaders so GEJ cannot be exonerated.
BTW, when did FFK start speaking on behalf of OBJ? That guy is starved of attention!

kettykin: When the Same OBJ was in power and their was sharia crisis all over the north west , he to call it a political sharia which will go away with time [/b]even when innocent Nigerians where been killed by fanatical mobs OBJ did not intervene with soldiers preferring to call south east governors who who were calling for confederation mischievous . Who is really deceiving who?
If there is trouble in Kano or Borno he says it is political sharia and when the Sam thing happens in plateau he declares state of Emergency . Useless Antichrist who has success in his 8 years reign is to sleep with his daughter in law and to crown it all ended up making his son a divorcee

And where is the sharia today? The notherners did not kill security personnels then. The unrest in the north had been since before OBJ remmember the Kano riot but terrorism is new in Nigeria and it was introduced by Niger Deltans.

kettykin: Hypocrisy of the highest magnitude being displayed with reckless abandon , OBJ sent soldiers to Odi and the victims were old women , old men and innocent children . He again sent soldiers to zaki bbiam and the victims were innocent young men who were invited by the soldiers to come for a peace meeting in the village square . Yet when OPC killed policemen in Lagos and ogun state OBJ again displayed his real color of selective justice preferring to arrest Gani Adams only to release him before elections . When the Sam OBJ was in power and their was sharia crisis all over the north west , he preferred to call it a political sharia which will go away with time even when innocent Nigerians where been killed by fanatical mobs OBJ did not intervene with soldiers preferring to call south east governors who who were calling for confederation mischievous . Who is really deceiving who?
If there is trouble in Kano or Borno he says it is political sharia and when the Sam thing happens in plateau he declares state of Emergency . Useless Antichrist who has success in his 8 years reign is to sleep with his daughter in law and to crown it all ended up making his son a divorcee

wwell well well sometimes nigerians behave like illitrates ,,i wished ur close relations ,maybe like 5 to 10 were killed int he bh crisis so dat u'ld feel d pain we feel instead of critising obj.

I'm afraid I'm with OBJ on this one, particularly on the 72nd Airborne Battalion's Ops in Zaki Biam. The murder....scratch that, slaughter of those 19 soldiers by Tiv villagers was one of the most savage and brutal cases I've ever come across. You only had to see the pics on TELL magazine to fully understand why the presidency and DHQ reacted the way they did. All 19 peacekeepers were slaughtered like goats in front of the camera, with the whole village celebrating. Do you really think the president would just sit back and watch?

Don't have a time for this unresourceful thread....late for work

GARRI (x7):

I'm not against decisive action being taken against terrorists. Infact one of my major grouse with GEJ is his refusal to name and prosecute the sponsors of BH...

If ur innocent parents were murdered and ur wife and sisters rap.ed by soldiers while "carrying out decisive action" against BH or any criminal group would you ßξ saying the thrash above..??

I pray also that someday ur children will be killed and ur wife rap.ed by security forces while they try to fight criminals....

ODE!!

My stand remains as I originally said...

That is why I don't trust forces niggaz, they will do more harm than good.

GARRI (x7):


I'm trying hard not to allow folks like you negatively influence my manners, so I'll ignore ur insults.

Please read my post again and highlight where I said it's ok for criminals to kill soldiers and policemen...

don't let the retard bother you. I don't know why is so common to be insulted on NL.

The truth is That the massacre of odi didn't solve militancy problems, what solved it a bit was yaradua's Amnesty. But i don't support the fact of negotiating with terrorist rather i support crushing them with force but not the odi style while only women and children were killed and not the militancy. With all due respect, OBJ knows that ODI was a total failure as it didn't yield the desired result so he is just trying to cover his ass

sheyguy: Where OBJ cruised through with bravery GEJ is stuck and as expected of him he prefers to go criticise the OBJ approach in order to justify the glaring flaws in his handling of his fellow PDP member going wild - BH.

Maybe you are right but also remember where a OBJ failed badly GEJ excelled with honours.

In time of crisis,who should be dealt with? Is it the offenders or non-offenders? How should a criminal be dealt with,by wiping out villages or by finding the perpetrators? Its only people from SW that will think that OBJ was right on the two occasions where he ordered soldiers to execute civilllians in Odi and Zaki-ibiam. After killing women and children in Odi,did militancy stop? OBJ was the president of Nigeria for 8years and Jos crisis lasted until his tenure elapse and he couldnt find solution. Throughout OBJ tenure,Niger delta militancy persisted yet OBJ couldnt find solution. OBJ's meddling in GEJ administration is only meant to discredit GEJ and to give him,OBJ,another opportunity to hand-pick another person as Nigeria president in 2015.GEJ's fight against BH is a very good strategy.GEJ is giving the fight against BH,a professional approch i.e,to catch the perpetrators and detain/kill them.OBJ's approach was barbaric approach.The whole of North-East are crying even when soldiers has not been mandated to fight with 'Attrition' option.OBJ remain Nigeria worst president.OBJ is trying to make people forgot he didnt do anything for nigeria in eight years except Killing mothers,children and aged.did OBJ solve any major crisis in Nigeria during his eight year reign,from Jos crisis to Niger delta militancy?

Femi Fani-Kayode is not OBJ's spokesman. The moderator should please change the topic as Femi's views.
Femi was OBJ's ex-spokesman, so whatever he is saying now should be quoted as his own view.
I believe OBJ is more matured than this, he won't respond to a sitting president like that, even if he has a different opinion.

and these are the same people who at that time had cried that OBJ and the killings were wrong.

If the Odi kilings solved the militancy problem, why did Yar Adua had to still do all he did to solve the problem. Fani Kayode - try to talk objectively.

by the time GEJ finishes with us... OBJ WILL LOOK LIKE A SAINT.

First off, this is propaganda at its highest level. Every reader should note that at no point in the article was Obasanjo quoted as saying anything. All that was said was by Fani Kayode, Obj's FORMER SPOKESMAN. Fani is no longer under the employ of Obj, hance, the title of the report is absolutely misleading and meant to stair up the hornet's nest. It is classical propaganda. No doubt in the days ahead, Obj would dissociate himself from what was being attributed to him because he's a wise and tactful man who choses his battles wisely.

That not withstanding, I am in total suport and would personally encourage fractures between all these thieves irrespective of the positions they hold. They represent the common enemy of the Nigerian State, and the Nigerian people.