OBJ, a disgrace to the military and also hardened liar —DHQ

The Defence Headquarters has described former President Olusegun
Obasanjo as an embarrassment to the military institution.
The Defence Headquarters made the comment in a statement posted on
itsFacebookpage while reacting to a statement credited to the former
President that the General Elections were postponed to enable the
President to use the Service Chiefs for tenure extension in an
electronic mail on Monday.
The Defence authorities accused the former President of politicising
serious national security and military issues.
It was said that while Obasanjo's intentions remained unclear, his
motives for making such utterances were less than noble.
The statement stressed that Obasanjo's claims were false.
It was also said that it was rather surprising that Obasanjo opted to
ignore the assurances by the Defence authorities in a statement that
the military would continue to be apolitical.
The military said that while it had the desire to accord some respect
to Obasanjo and his views, the statement credited to him did not
reflect the standard of discipline expected from a former General of
his status.
The Defence authorities said that the world had moved beyond the
mentality of Obasanjo, insisting that the military personnel of today
were better equipped in the area of training, education and exposure
to have a better appreciation of democracy and its importance to
national prosperity.
"The Defence Headquarters has noted the remarks of a former President,
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as reported in the media stating his views
on perceived state of the armed forces and the roles being allegedly
played by the military in the nation's political process in recent
times…
"It is however noteworthy that most of his utterances lately indicate
an attitude of playing to the gallery or indulging in politicisation
of serious national security or military affairs. For instance, the
comments credited to Chief Obasanjo alleging that the postponement of
the General Elections was to enable President Jonathan to use the
Service Chiefs to plot a tenure extension is to say the least, very
surprising.
"It is surprising indeed, considering the fact that the retired
General chose to ignore the clarification and emphatic assurances of
non-partisanship of the military as declared in a DHQ statement on the
position of the Armed Forces in the ongoing political activities. His
motive as usual remains unknown but it is certainly less than noble or
well intentioned. We dare say again that Chief Obasanjo's assertions
are false.
"Much as the military desires to respect the old General and his
views, it has become necessary to point out that his conduct and
unguarded utterances of late have fallen short of the standard of
discipline expected of an individual who has had the privilege of
service in the military and risen to the status of a General.
"The behaviour of retired General (Chief) Obasanjo has been so
unbecoming and continues to constitute a serious embarrassment to the
military before all who have reasonably and rightly adjudged the
essence of military background in terms of the high value and standard
it tends to contribute to statesmanship.
"We feel constrained to remind the old General that the world has
moved beyond that parochial and self-adulating reasoning and mindset
which he seems stuck to. Indeed, he needs to be told that by virtue of
their better training, exposure, education, assessment and
environment, the military personnel of today are already far beyond
his level in their appreciation of democracy and its indispensability
for the stable and prosperous society which Nigerians cherish," the
statement read in part.
Firstclassnewsline.net
It was further said that the military institution bequeathed to the
country had developed beyond where he left it and was more committed
to the maintenance of the ethos of service of the military, valour,
subordination to civil authorities and adherence to non-partisan
discharge of their responsibilities.
The DHQ stressed that the military was not inept and could not have
been misused in the manner presented by the former President.
The statement added that the military had such a strong belief in
democracy and its structures and institutions that it would not do
anything to undermine it.
It challenged Obasanjo to indicate genuine interest in the growth and
sustenance of the nation's democracy.
The statement urged Obasanjo to improve his understanding of complex
issues involving the military and to encourage the services rather
than imputing ulterior motives to security efforts.
"The Defence Headquarters will like to encourage Chief Obasanjo to be
genuinely interested in the growth and sustenance of Nigeria's
democratic credentials. He is also enjoined to endeavour to improve in
his understanding of intricate issues and try to encourage the
military rather than continue with this tendency to indulge in
imputation of ulterior motives to every effort, all for the purpose of
discrediting well-thought-out policies or decisions related to the
military's roles in the polity.
"The support of all well-meaning elderly Nigerians remains vital in
the onerous duty of working for the stability, defence and peace of
our country under duly constituted authorities in a democratic
environment," the statement added.
Firstclassnewsline.net