Afe Babalola Speaks On Who Is Responsible For Killer Herdsmen, Boko Haram Menace

Posted by Odinaka on Thu 15th Mar, 2018 - tori.ng

Nigerian Lawyer and founder of Afe Babalola University, Afe Babalola, has opened up on who is responsible for the destruction and killings by Boko Haram and Herdsmen in the country.

File photo (armed herdsman)

While speaking in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Thursday where he received an award of ‘Sir Ahmadu Bello Platinum’ by the Northern Youths Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Afe Babalola, has ‘absolved’ President Buhari of culpability in the spate of killings and the state of insecurity around the country.

According to PREMIUM Times, the foremost Nigerian legal practitioner, blamed the military for altering the political structure of the country, saying the action had resulted in conflicts occurring in the “forms of herdsmen killings and Boko Haram insurgency”.

The proprietor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, said the military coup of 1966, which ushered in a “lopsided unitary system” in the country and abrogated the regional system, was responsible for the “unwholesome scenarios playing out”.

“The essence of government is to guarantee the security of lives and property of the people. President Buhari is not to blame for this insecurity but the military,” he said.

“Before military took over in 1966, Nigeria was operating regional system with each region growing and developing faster at its own pace.

“These regions were closer to the people. Killings or insurgency were alien to our culture then. Nigerians love one another, though they were divided politically.

“I want to say that if those regions were allowed then, the country would have had a nation or nations that are well developed today.”

He lamented the state of governance in Nigeria. “Many pensioners have died having been owed several years of pension arrears,” he said.

“Even those in the service were owed seven or eight months salary arrears, so just like I said earlier, our leaders have turned us into beggars.”

He also noted that his university has the vision to build the youth into a reliable future leaders. “There are many rich people in Nigeria who can establish this kind of university with the vision to bring quality education as well as moral and cultural values to the doorstep of Nigerians,” he said.

“If we have this kind of university in each of the six geopolitical zones or every state, Nigeria will change for better.

“Go to the North and propagate the ideals which my university stands for. Nigeria must be united at all cost for us to make a headway and overcome all our challenges.”