From Kelvin Ebiri, (Port Harcourt)
FORMER governor of Rivers State, Chief Melford Okilo, says retired military officers are scheming to return to power because politicians lack intergrity and politics has become big money business.
According to him, the absence of men imbued with patriotism and nationalism, occasioned by wrong values that Nigerians have imbibed over the years, has created room for past military officers to be scrambling to seek power at the polls. He noted that men with integrity have therefore, been scared to come out and make their meaningful contribution to the development of the nation because of this mindset.
Okilo told The Guardian that despite being together for 44 years, Nigerians have not learnt to live together as a united people. The strife among the ethnic nationalities, which in turn has resulted in the loss of lives and property, Okilo said has created the environment for the military to scheme to enter the political arena.
Noting that the country was at war with itself, Okilo said that, if Nigeria was a place where the people were disciplined, no right thinking person would be talking about the return of any former military ruler to power.
He blamed the people for turning the entire country to a war theatre, hence luring men without democratic credentials to consider recapturing political power again.
"The military people are coming back because they have seen that there are killings everywhere. The military man specialises in killing, so they want more killings. God gives us what we deserve. When you say something is not good, it is not good. If we want military men, we will continue to have them," he said.
Explaining that the nation was tenaciously walking on the path of might over right, Okilo noted that men of integrity still abound in the country.
Okilo, a senator in the Third Republic, voluntarily retired from active politics last year. He expressed concern that the nation would again stray away if past military men were allowed to participate in the democratic process.
He said: "What we want is what we get. We are not on the right path. The military men are coming back because the nation is at war with itself, so they want to lead us. If the country was at peace, we will want different people. You do not blame the military because the country is at war with itself. Who is that religious man who can bring peace and govern Nigeria peacefully when there is killing every where."
He then called for a change of attitude among Nigerians in order to move the country forward. More resources according to him should be channelled towards the development of moral education in the country, adding that only disciplined people could liberate the nation.
