Ex-Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has said he is more concerned about the security problems in the country than contesting the 2023 presidential election.
George had told newsmen that he was interested in contesting the 2023 presidential poll against ex-Lagos State governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The retired military officer however said he had not abandoned his presidential ambition.
George said, “People are trying to push (me), saying, if it’s coming to the South-West, they will give me support. For me, it’s still about three years from now.
“When people make such overtures to you, you don’t just brush them off. But there are many hurdles to cross before we get there.
“Look at the state of the country now. The country is destabilised. It is shifting. The platforms are very unstable and it is not a matter of one party versus another party now. It’s a national disaster and it calls for us to put all our hands to stabilise our nation.”
George praised the Operation Amotekun initiative of South-West governors, saying it would help tackle insecurity in the region.
The ex-Ondo State military governor said, “If you travel from A to B now, you will keep looking behind you and thinking you may be kidnapped or somebody is going to hit you.
“That’s a state of hopelessness and helplessness. And the number of police we have can’t cope – 245,000 versus more than 200 million people. That’s absolutely inadequate.
“That makes Amotekun more essential is community policing, at least, so that people can sleep well at night. Those are the issues that bother me now, rather than presidential elections.”
Meanwhile, George called on countries bordering the North-East Nigeria to renew their support for the fight against Boko Haram.
Ex-Security Adviser to Cross River, Mr Jude Ngaji, also echoed the PDP chief’s view.
In separate interviews with newsmen, the duo said tackling the Boko Haram insurgency required the support of the neighbouring countries.
Ngaji said, “We underestimated their level of infiltration into society. The military thought that the terrorists were a group of persons they would just clean up, but these people have infiltrated society. They have become those that even sell your basic daily needs to you.
“Much as we are trying to wipe out these people, we should ask if Cameroon, Niger and Chad are doing the same thing that we are doing. These countries must have to put in the same efforts as Nigeria for this war to succeed.
“There must be a commitment from the neighbouring countries for us to win this war. Cameroon, Niger, and Chad must step up the fight to support our firepower. These guys have gone beyond insurgents; they are now terrorists who operate from different countries.”
George said intelligence gathering was key. He stated, “If we think that the current war against these terrorists is a conventional war, then we have missed it. It is guerrilla warfare and once you have that situation, it takes a much longer time. The people they are fighting live in communities.
“The only thing that we can do is to keep applying technology, especially the use of satellite equipment to locate their operational bases. We must internationalise this by getting the support of other nations.
“The other option is information gathering and to negotiate for peace. These Boko Haram fighters are more of Nigerians, not aliens. Meet their leaders and discuss with them and that is the way you can end this protracted guerrilla warfare.”
