Obasanjo Tells Tinubu: Deploy Drones Against Bandits or Nigerians Will Call for Foreign Intervention

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has issued a stark warning to President Bola Tinubu: use modern military technology to stop bandits now, or Nigerians will have no choice but to seek help from the international community.

Speaking at the Plateau Unity Christmas and Praise Festival on Friday, November 28, Obasanjo didn’t mince words about the country’s worsening security crisis.

He called the ongoing killings across Nigeria “nonsensical” and unacceptable for a functioning government.

“We are part of the world community. If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community to do for us what our government cannot do for us,” he said.

“If we are being killed, it is the responsibility of the government to do something about it.”

The former president urged Nigerians to hold their leaders accountable at every level and demand real action against insecurity.

Obasanjo pointed out that Nigeria now has access to advanced defense technology, particularly drones and satellite surveillance, that can track and eliminate criminals anywhere in the country.

These tools weren’t available during his presidency, making today’s inaction even harder to justify.

“In these days of technology, there should be nobody hiding anywhere after committing a crime that cannot be seen with the present-day satellite,” he said.

He sharply criticized the government’s approach of negotiating with bandits and allegedly paying ransoms, calling it a strategy that only makes criminals bolder.

Obasanjo noted that even before he left office, Nigeria had intelligence systems capable of identifying criminals.

Now, with far superior technology, the country can neutralize threats without putting soldiers at risk on the ground.

“You can take them out. Why are we not doing that? Why are we negotiating?” he asked. “And after government has paid these criminals, government denies!”

He ended with an emotional appeal: “We are tired of being killed. Whether Christian, Muslim or pagan, every Nigerian life matters, and the killings must stop.”