By Mohammed Mubarak Alabi
There has been too much hue and cry on the Mailafia Obadiah revelations about the unending security crisis in the north, particularly with the blood letting in his native southern Kaduna
There are so many dimensions to the crisis, but of more serious concern is the claim by Obadiah that he encountered some Boko Haram members who revealed to him that a certain serving Governor was their commander and key sponsor
He also made it clear that being a PHD holder from Oxford university, and as a Central Banker, he couldn’t be speaking nonsense, because people with such pedigrees don’t just speak carelessly
Coming at the peak of bloody conflicts in his own area, such comments were naturally expected to elicit serious concerns among the security agencies
The nation’s security agencies should at least want to know from Obadiah, who were the Boko Haram members he met with, where and when since he himself said emphatically that he held meetings with them not once, twice, or even thrice!
For a high profile personality, as Obadiah to say these things meant that he probably knew much more than he had actually revealed, prompting the DSS to invite him for debriefing.
The former Central banker also revealed that his BH informants said that the bandits and kidnappers ravaging most parts of the north, including some Fulani herders were part of the BH insurgency, and that they had even moved into the southern part of Nigeria with plans to start another civil war
At the time Obadiah made these claims, his native southern Kaduna had become a killing field as clashes between the herders and farmers continued to take toll. To many, the statement by Obadiah, was deliberately intended to further escalate the crisis, particularly with the insinuation that a sitting governor was behind it.
Given the serious security implications of such claims, it was thought that Obadiah had his hands on the hidden facts which would have helped the security agencies in getting to the roots of the matter.
But, quite disappointingly, it turned out that Obadiah was only spreading rumours, which he himself admitted to have picked up from some Fulani traders in his village market. Clearly, Obadiah had very sinister motives by making such wild claims without any evidence to back him up.
The defense being put up by his tribes men that he was not the first to make such statements are childish and unimpressive.
If a man like Obadiah has decided to talk himself into trouble, he should prepare to face the consequences, and not try to take up ethnic/ religious sentiment in the defense of a bad case.
