Chief Patrick Osagie Eholor, social crusader and President of the One Love Foundation, in this one-on-one chat advocated for legalising possession of firearms by Nigerians.
Excerpts:
On Cross River’s anti-crime unit, Operation Akpakwu and Governor Ben Ayade’s pronouncement
Most of the state governors are the criminals not the citizens. Governors who are collecting security votes and spending it without the consent of the citizens; governors who are hiding palliatives. They should be ashamed of themselves. The man (Governor Ben Ayade) is acting like a military officer. It was so disgraceful of him to put on a military uniform to address his people. When did you see Joe Biden or Donald Trump wearing military uniform and behaving like a military dictator? These people(Nigeria governors) get so power drunk.
This was the same attitude that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State was putting up and I had to confront him. He went to a meeting of his kinsmen and was humiliating them. That wasn’t good. There are ways you can talk to people without been harsh. You will recall that Governor Wike was saying that there would be no room for endsars protesters on the streets of Rivers State. That anyone who dares him would be arrested. I challenged him that he is not bigger than the people who power belongs to and they elected him. It is our fundamental human rights to demonstrate. It is our fundamental human rights to protest. Wike is supposed to be a law officer but he is a lawbreaker.
Prof. Ben Ayade has been in the news for so many bad reasons. It is very wrong for him to say that he is going to destroy any whose landlord is harbouring a criminal. Let me ask him, does he have a credit bureau in his state? Does he have the number of people in his state? Does he have a social security number in Cross River State? Does he have the enabling environment in the state that will stop these acts of criminality he is trying to banish from the state? It is quite wrong for him to be enacting such ambiguous laws in his state.
I think the people of Cross River State are very docile. If they are not docile they should rise up against this dictator(Governor Ayade) and show him the way out of office by telling members of the state house of assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against him for threatening the peace loving people of the state.
On the abduction of secondary school students in Katsina State
It is unfortunate. We know that our security system is dead. What they (abductors) did in Katsina State was to embarrass President Muhammadu Buhari. There is a saying in Benin that a lion cannot come to an area to steal a goat if he knows that the people there are very powerful. The lion would be taking a big risk if he does that. President Buhari cannot even defend himself not to talk about defending the students. That’s the reason the abductors carried out that daring operation of abducting over 300 students right under his nose.
I have said it several times that Nigeria’s security chiefs are only loyal to President Buhari not to Nigeria citizens for reasons best known to them. They have served this country beyond the time permitted by the constitution. We are also aware that President Buhari has the power to extend their stay in office. But they have outlived their usefulness. Right now they have nothing to offer Nigerians. This abduction incident is an embarrassment to them and the nation. I urge General Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), to as a matter of urgency resign and apologise to Nigerians.
What’s also worrisome is the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who is a SAN, an understands the legality or illegality of what’s happening yet he is championing law breaking. He should apologise to his immediate family and the youths of Nigeria who have suffered in the hands of law enforcement agents and criminals. He should resign in shame because he too has over stayed his usefulness. It is when the ovation is loud that he should leave the stage.
My suggestion is that we should hire mercenaries to defend and protect our citizens and porous borders. I advocate for what is obtainable in America where y every citizen has a right to bear arms and ammunitions. It is time that we agitate that every responsible Nigeria citizen should be allowed to bear arms and ammunitions. If we all have arms and ammunitions we can defend ourselves. From all indications, it is obvious that the government can no longer defend the citizens.
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