Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, in this interview with AYORINDE OLUOKUN, defends himself, waving all charges against him as political propaganda.
What do you make of the criticisms of your roles in recent elections held across South-West Nigeria, starting with the bye-election in Ondo?
Well, I would say it comes with the job. Criticisms are welcome as long as they are constructive and not destructive. You cannot be in public service and expect not to be criticised. In the case of Ondo, as with all APC accusations and criticisms, I would like to state categorically that none of their allegations against me is true. The APC is widely known for its use of smear campaign and propaganda. It becomes even worse when it comes to Musiliu Obanikoro. Their fixation on anything Obanikoro is easily explainable when you consider the fact that they see me as a major threat to their political fortunes in the South-West.
Your critics have labelled you ‘Minister for Election Forces’, given the way you led thousands of soldiers for these elections. Don’t you think you deserve this ‘label’ given your role in recent elections in the South-West?
I have nothing to do with election forces. I have said it before that I am not the minister of electoral affairs. I am involved in South-West politics to the extent to which my office permits me as a South-West politician. It is nothing more than that. As a committed party man, I was in Ekiti to support my brother, Ayodele Fayose and I was in Osun to support Omisore as well. On the issue of security forces being deployed to elections, the Military were in Ekiti and Osun to safeguard the will of the people.
If it was true that the Military were deployed to Ekiti to give the PDP an advantage, how come electoral observers and Nigerians generally declared that election free and fair and even commended the Military? We need to be careful how we play politics with everything. Was Ekiti election not adjudged to be free and fair?
Do you in good conscience believe that Fayemi lost to Fayose because soldiers were deployed to Ekiti?
Was Obanikoro the Minister of State for Defence in 2012 when over 3,500 soldiers were deployed to Edo gubernatorial elections? What was the outcome? ACN won and Oshiomhole commended President Jonathan for it. The opposition didn’t cry about militarisation. What changed? Because they lost in Ekiti? Why are they such bad losers?
The deployment of ‘hooded soldiers’ for Osun polls has been criticised by politicians and election observers. Some have even alleged that some of the hooded men may not be men of the Nigerian Army. Why is it necessary for soldiers who are not engaged in fighting terrorists or on operation in terrorist-infested areas to be masked?
In this part of the world, we are sometimes very fond of making an issue out of nothing. Military face-masks or balaclavas as they are also called, are used in a variety of military and tactical situations during cold weather and other environmental hazards for face protection. The use of masks is very common among armed forces across the world. Even U.S. soldiers have been wearing them for years.
It is not only in Osun. Even in Abuja, you find our military guys wearing these masks during their operational duties. I am even very happy that what they are complaining about is that our soldiers wore masks, not that they shot anyone. If the wearing of face-masks includes what our military need to discharge their duties efficiently, why don’t we allow them? Why politicise it? We must always learn to focus on the things that are important. We should stop playing politics with everything.
Some of your critics said your appointment as defence minister by President Jonathan is to help the PDP take over the South-West and they believe you have been doing this by taking advantage of soldiers under your control to the disadvantage of the opposition. What is your reaction to this assertion, Sir?
It is a baseless allegation. President Goodluck Jonathan does not need my office as Minister of State for Defence to help PDP take over the South-West. This is not the first time an indigene of the South-West would occupy this office. My predecessor, Erelu Olusola Obada, is from the South-West, and many others before her. Those making that allegation are simply trying to stand logic on its head to score cheap political points.
President Jonathan that I know is the most democratic president Nigeria has ever had. Even if, as the opposition are claiming, he wants to use the Military to reclaim the South-West for PDP, even a child in kindergarten knows he does not need a Minister of State for Defence to achieve that. He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. So, sometimes when professional politicians make allegations like these for cheap political gains, the media as the conscience of society should be able to put the issues in proper perspective. I am in President Jonathan’s cabinet as Minister of State for Defence to support the President in our war against insurgency. Every other thing is secondary.
Why do you think it is necessary to arrest leaders of opposition parties on the eve of elections and what is your role in this, because critics alleged that you are the one leading these arrests, Sir?
I am not a policeman, neither am I a military man or a law enforcement officer. I am the Honourable Minister of State for Defence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is ridiculous for anyone to think I can lead soldiers or policemen to arrest anyone. That must be a reckless joke. If anyone was arrested unlawfully on the eve of elections or at anytime, are there not appropriate legal channels to seek redress? What has Obanikoro got to do with this?
Do you agree with those who said large deployment of security personnel for recent elections were a disincentive rather than an incentive for voters to turn out to vote?
I don’t completely agree with those who say heavy military presence during elections can be a disincentive for voters. For whatever it is worth, the outcomes of Ekiti and Osun, despite the heavy military presence have shown that our security forces are deployed primarily for their professional expertise in protecting the electoral process and preventing crisis makers from having a field day. So, going forward, lessons from Ekiti and Osun have shown that only mischief makers should be afraid of the Military during elections. Law abiding citizens have nothing to fear.
Recently, men of the Nigerian Army were involved, according to eyewitnesses, in the destruction of public transportation buses in Lagos in protest of the alleged death of one of their colleagues. Though credible eyewitnesses indicted soldiers, you absolved them without carrying out any independent investigations. Don’t you think you are encouraging impunity on the part of the armed forces?
I did not absolve anyone. I was at a function with the Vice-President in Kaduna when that incident happened in Lagos. Immediately it was brought to my attention, I engaged the Chief of Army Staff, who briefed me about the situation. I reacted based on information made available to me through the relevant Army channels. The Army carried out an investigation and according to their findings, thugs and not soldiers vandalised the buses. That was the official Army position on the matter.
I am not in a position to deny that there is any other evidence to the contrary. I wasn’t at the scene of the incident. But if there is any contrary evidence as you are claiming, then I expect that the Lagos State Government should not hesitate to challenge the Army’s position on the issue. Why must Obanikoro be dragged into everything? They even went as far as saying I was the one who asked soldiers to go on the rampage. How wicked of them! Was I the one who arranged for a BRT bus to knock down a soldier? How can these people be so wicked, all in the name of politics?
Still on Lagos, the state government once accused you of using soldiers to chase away contractors from one of its housing projects at Ilubirin. Indeed, the Governor accused you of using your position to destabilise rather than advance the interest of Lagos. What is your reaction to this, Sir?
On the issue of the Ilubirin housing project and the allegation that I brought soldiers to stop the project, I expected a man of Governor Fashola’s exposure, education and intellectual stature to know better. But, unfortunately, he chose to reduce the issue to politics. I don’t have the powers to deploy one soldier, not to talk of soldiers. No single Nigerian soldier is under my direct command.
These things are not hidden; you can go to Defence Headquarters and make your independent investigation. The military men you see with me are my security detail and their mandate is to provide personal protection. As a concerned Lagosian, I went to the site of the Ilubirin housing project to personally see things for myself considering the environmental hazard of the project. My visit did not last more than ten minutes.
The next thing I heard was that I invaded Lagos with soldiers. Soldiers from where? Who deployed them? Even the military detail at my residence, I had to write a letter to the Military authorities before they where deployed? You can go and confirm. The records are there. I am a full-blooded Lagosian. I love Lagos. My roots are here. I will never do anything inimical to the interests of Lagos. Never! Lagos State Government and the APC as a whole are very good with propaganda. But there is a wide gulf between propaganda and the truth. The issue of Obanikoro bringing soldiers to Lagos is a wicked and calculated propaganda to discredit my person.