Obasanjo, while fielding questions from journalists after a thanksgiving service to mark the New Year at the Chapel of Christ the Glorious King in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said the action of the young lad should not be a yardstick to justify all Nigerians, adding that Nigerians were law-abiding people and not terrorists.
“The young man’s case should not be used as a standard to judge Nigerians or, in fact, to criminalise all Nigerians. Nigerians are not criminals. The fact that the boy committed a grave offence as a Nigerian does not say that all Nigerians are terrorists or criminals,” Obasanjo said.The former president contended that the father of the suspect was well known to him as a peace-loving Nigerian and a specimen of a good man.
“I sympathise with his father, particularly, and his family, because I know the father very well. His father is what I will call specimen of a good man; he’s a gentleman who want the best for his children. And this one should be an aberration,” Obasanjo added.
Obasanjo said he pitied the Mutallabs for the embarrassment caused them by the action of Farouk, saying the young lad was just a defiant who failed to obey his parents.He also said defiant children were expected to be seen in any large family charged young ones to be obedient and be good children to their parents.
“In any large family, you have defiant children. He (Farouk) just turned out to be that. With that, it’s a pity and also it’s a good lesson for all parents and children. If, as a child, you do not listen to your parents, anything can happen,” the former president said.Obasanjo predicted that 2010 would be a glorious year for all Nigerians and also prayed that the country would become great and a good example for other African countries.
0 comments:
Post a Comment