OBJ, a shame to the military —DHQ

The Defence Headquarters has described former
President Olusegun Obasanjo as an
embarrassment to the military institution.
The Defence Headquarters made the comment in
a statement posted on its Facebook page while
reacting to a statement credited to the former
President that the General Elections were
postponed to enable the President to use the
Service Chiefs for tenure extension in an
electronic mail on Monday.
The Defence authorities accused the former
President of politicising serious national security
and military issues.
It was said that while Obasanjo’s intentions
remained unclear, his motives for making such
utterances were less than noble.
The statement stressed that Obasanjo’s claims
were false.
It was also said that it was rather surprising that
Obasanjo opted to ignore the assurances by the
Defence authorities in a statement that the military
would continue to be apolitical.
The military said that while it had the desire to
accord some respect to Obasanjo and his views,
the statement credited to him did not reflect the
standard of discipline expected from a former
General of his status.
The Defence authorities said that the world had
moved beyond the mentality of Obasanjo, insisting
that the military personnel of today were better
equipped in the area of training, education and
exposure to have a better appreciation of
democracy and its importance to national
prosperity.
“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 to 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 have 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 behaviour of retired General (Chief) 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 its
indispensability for the stable and prosperous
society which Nigerians cherish,” the statement
read in part.
It was further said that the military institution
bequeathed to the country had developed beyond
where he 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 non-partisan 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 former President.
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 challenged Obasanjo to indicate genuine interest
in the growth and sustenance of the nation’s
democracy.
The statement urged Obasanjo to improve his
understanding of complex issues involving the
military and to encourage the services rather than
imputing ulterior motives to security efforts.
“The Defence Headquarters will like to encourage
Chief Obasanjo to be genuinely interested in the
growth and sustenance of Nigeria’s democratic
credentials. He is also enjoined to endeavour to
improve in his understanding of intricate issues
and try to encourage the military rather than
continue with this tendency to indulge in
imputation of ulterior motives to every effort, all
for the purpose of discrediting well-thought-out
policies or decisions related to the military’s roles
in the polity.
“The support of all well-meaning elderly Nigerians
remains vital in the onerous duty of working for
the stability, defence and peace of our country
under duly constituted authorities in a democratic
environment,” the statement added.