News

Okuoma: Killers of 17 soldiers must not go unpunished — Obanikoro

A former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has condemned the killing of 17 officers of the Nigerian Army in Delta State, describing the incident as very sad and unfortunate.

Obanikoro, also a former Ambassador to Ghana, made the remark when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria.

He spoke with NAN on Saturday in Lagos on the sidelines of the 10th Ramadan Lecture of Anwar-ul Islam College, Agege Old Students’ Association.

The lecture was titled: “Economic insecurity in Nigeria – Islamic solutions.”

Obanikoro said: “The killing of those soldiers is very sad and those killers must not go unpunished.

“We must make an example of them that nobody dares to do that again.

“We must do it to the point that even when people see security officers in uniform, they will run, not to talk of killing them.

“That killing is very sad.

“It is very very unfortunate.”

On the current economic challenges facing the nation, the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress said all hands must be on the deck for Nigeria to rise above all difficulties.

The former Lagos State Commissioner said that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration was also working hard to address all the challenges bringing difficulties to Nigeria and Nigerians.

Obanikoro said: “We are going through a lot and a lot is also being done to ensure that things are normalised.

“The most important thing is the fact that all of us must play our part.

“The idea of thinking that only the President can change Nigeria is a wrong perception.

“Everybody must play their part.

“If you don’t play your part, your country is not going anywhere.”

Obanikoro said Nigeria would not get anywhere if all stakeholders, including teachers, students, police, civil servants, politicians and other people, failed to conduct themselves very well and play active roles.

He added: “If everyone is playing his or her part, we shall make the job a lot easier for the President and for ourselves too so that everybody will be comfortable in the nation.”

He decried that many Nigerians had become too lazy and not ready to work anymore, but just looking for easy money.

Obanikoro, who noted that while growing up, he had worked as a labourer in companies, a newspaper vendor and hawker, said most Nigerians didn’t want hard work again, hence the reason for hunger in the land.

He said: “I want to get rich overnight syndrome is killing Nigeria.

“Nigerians must change their attitude and disposition to life.

“We have become a nation of beggars and we have to turn around.”

Also Read

NAN recalls that on March 14, 2024, at least 17 senior military officers and soldiers of the 181 Amphibious Battalion of the Nigerian army deployed on a peace-keeping mission to quell community clashes were killed in Okuama, a community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.

The assailants gruesomely murdered the soldiers who were on a peaceful and mediation to resolve a reported case of communal clash between Okuama and Okoloba communities in Ughelli South and Bomadi LGAs of Delta State.

Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp

Back to top button