Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra state, has criticized the federal government over its decision to pay ransom and amnesty to rescue kidnap victims from the hands of bandits.
Obi said Nigeria is not progressing because bandits are being rewarded, while lecturers are owed salaries.
The vice-presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 election said this was speaking at the launch of a book titled, ‘Communication and Media Studies: Multiple Perspectives’, written by Stella Okunna, a former commissioner in Anambra.
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The month of February was plagued with multiple attacks by bandits on communities, travelers, and most notably, students. The recent degradation of the security situation in the country reached a crescendo when 29 students were kidnapped in Kagara, Niger State, and over 200 schoolgirls were also abducted in Jangebe, Zamfara State.
Although all the students have been freed, reports that ransoms were paid to secure their rescue were met with reproval. However, the government has denied that ransom was paid to the bandits.
Obi said Nigeria’s economy cannot be productive if the country continues to reward criminality while ignoring the intellectual capacity of its citizens.
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“How do we go and negotiate and pay somebody, a bandit, when we have not paid those who are working?” Obi asked following reported negotiations with bandits who abduct school children in the north.
“You can’t pay people for banditry. The only business that thrives in Nigeria is stealing the government’s money, banditry, and kidnapping — and that’s why your country is not progressing.
“We are owing those who have legitimately worked. And we are negotiating and paying those who have stolen kids. It is a criminal system.
“Lecturers are owed. How do we compensate those who have not contributed anything to the economy? The economy is not productive and that’s why it is failing.
“Nigeria will not succeed if we continue asking bandits to come to a meeting, and we are not calling professors to a meeting. That is why the country is where it is today. May God help Nigeria.”
© ControlTV 2021.
