• Be wary of Dokubo, ex-military officer warns Tinubu
Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, yesterday, expressed outrage over an attack on Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), by ex-militant leader, Asari Dokubo.
The group urged President Bola Tinubu to ignore the likes of Dokubo and invite Kanu for discussion.
A statement by the National President of Council, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, accused Dokubo of being sponsored by those, who want to destabilise Tinubu’s government.
Dokubo had, while speaking with journalists after a meeting with President Tinubu, branded the IPOB leader a criminal and asked Tinubu not to release him.
Okwu said it was unthinkable that at a time many citizens of the country were thinking of ways to unite the country, Dokubo, who postures as a ‘son of the President’ was busy throwing up ideas that would further polarise the country.
He said: “We have always known Asari Dokubo as a rabble-rouser, who is not interested in the progress and prosperity of this nation. This is a man who had been in the creeks for years sabotaging the country’s economy. We all know what it is to sabotage the economy of a country- what other crime could be more than this?
“But curiously, the same man who claims to have repented, even when his boys are still in the creeks, has the temerity to brand Nnamdi Kanu a criminal.
“When did Asari Dokubo become a court of competent jurisdiction to decide who is a criminal? He has only taken his hatred for Ndigbo too far.”
The group urged Tinubu to ignore Dokubo and his ilk “who are not in any way interested in the future of the country but their selfish gains.
He added: “Mr. President made it clear that he is ready to unite the fragmented country he inherited from the past administration and he has been so much applauded for this.
“We urge Mr. President to go ahead and not allow his administration to be derailed by hypocrites, like Asari Dokubo, who wants to feed fat from any form of crisis in the country. Mr. President should be wary of him and his sponsors who are enemies of the government.
“The Federal Government should invite and engage Nnamdi Kanu and other agitators. They are fighting for justice. If the government could engage members of Boko Haram, who have killed and maimed millions of people, it should not find it hard engaging the agitators.”
Similarly, Tinubu has been warned to be wary of Dokubo, who blackmails the military in order to score cheap political goals.
A retired military officer and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Akinola Akinjide Kazeem, gave the warning.
Kazeem was reacting to Dokubo’s allegation that the military intimidates Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in order to steal oil.
But the APC chieftain described Dokubo utterances as unfounded and unfortunate and should be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians.
Kazeem wondered why Dokubo, who was a beneficiary of amnesty programme for ex-militants, could talk down on the military, which is instrumental to the peace enjoyed in the Niger Delta now.
“This statement by Dokubo is capable of setting the country ablaze. His statement may pit Nigerians against the military and create room for distrust, and this is not good for the country”, he said.
He also reminded Dokubo that he was awarded the contract to secure the pipelines in the Niger Delta region, and that he should explain why oil theft continued in the region.
The APC chieftain challenged the ex-militant to make his intentions known to the President if he is lobbying for contract to secure the pipeline instead of blackmailing the Nigerian military.
He warned the former militant to desist from misleading the President by blackmailing the military, whom he said has been instrumental to the stability the country enjoys currently.
