The former National Conscience Party presidential candidate was the guest of Politics Today on Channels Television, where he spoke passionately about the state of insurgency in Nigeria and the need to rescue the abducted schoolgirls alive.
Momodu shared the pains of the parents of the girls and called for more intensive action to get the girls back, explaining that the longer they remain in custody of the dangerous insurgents who cared about nothing, the more the trauma their parents would go through.
On the point of view that Nigeria should not negotiate with terrorists, Momodu said, “We are not America, we must own up to our shame”. He explained that Nigeria lacked the capacity to engage terrorists the way America would do; otherwise the President would not be in France seeking support.
He insisted, “Whether we like it or not, we must open a line of communication with these people”
Momodu who recalled his role during the Liberian civil war and his interactions with the Nigerian Military, noted that they were very intelligent and skilled, referring to the country’s army as one of the best in the world.
He said that the problem facing the Army in its fight against terror was that of lack of proper fire power to face the insurgents, whom he described as having superior arms and ammunition.
Momodu also cautioned Nigerians on the view that the support of the international community in the fight against Boko Haram meant that the group was in trouble. He asked, “What trouble? How do you fight a man who is not ready to die?”
He explained that men of the Boko Haram sect were highly motivated by their beliefs and brainwashed into linking their activities with their own salvation, a situation that makes them highly determined and unperturbed in the face of threats of international intervention.
Mr. Momodu aligned with the views shared by some of Channels Television’s viewers via social media that the war was an unconventional war. He stated that the Nigerian military has also admitted that this was not a regular war; a view which validates his earlier stance that there was more to resolving the crisis than military action.
As a former presidential candidate, Dele Momodu said that he would have expected President Jonathan to rally Nigerians to support whatever vision he has on his plans to fight the insurgents, as this was the first most important thing to do as a leader.
He said that President Jonathan should have visited Chibok. He wondered how the President’s advisers would suggest the contrary to him. According to him, the best way for the President to get the support of Nigerians was to put his own life at par with the life of every other Nigerian.
While noting that he had nothing against the President, he insisted, “Nigerians want to see a President that is not afraid to go anywhere.”
“He must go to Chibok, he must meet the parents, he must commiserate with them and he should stop giving excuses”, he said.
Momodu urged Nigerians to ignore the workings of politics and unite to fight the terrorists as it was not the time to use the lives of Nigerians to make permutations for the coming general elections.
On the request of Boko Haram for the release of some of their men in the captivity of the Nigerian Government, in exchange for the abducted girls, Mr Momodu asked that this offer should not be thrown away totally.
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