Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress have accused President Goodluck Jonathan of abandoning security of the country for his second term ambition. The APC governors, who are under the aegis of the Progressive Governors Forum, made the accusation on Tuesday just as the Federal Government said the Armed Forces were recruiting more people to ensure effective protection of the North- East against the activities of Boko Haram insurgents. But the APC governors, in a statement by the Director-General of the PGF, Mallam Salihu Lukman, said the Monday attacks on military formations and parts of Maiduguri, Borno State, by Boko Haram insurgents were pointers that Jonathan had no security agenda. The governors lamented that the security situation in several parts of the country had continued to deteriorate despite the extension of the State of Emergency in some of the North- East states and the trillions of naira spent on security by the Jonathan administration. The statement reads, “As it were, notwithstanding the fact that nearly one-third of this year’s Federal Government budget was devoted to defence and security, few Nigerians actually feel safe. “The most recent attacks were particularly telling as they show that President Jonathan has no security agenda and is only focused on retaining power beyond 2015. “The result of this criminal negligence is the unabated slaughter of lives. Clearly the security structures set up in the region have been overwhelmed.” The PGF therefore called on the President to reassess his security strategy and focus more on the critical issues of the day. The governors said that the strategies and tactics currently adopted by Jonathan and security agencies drafted to the North-East had been ineffectual . While commiserating with the government and the people of Borno State, they also called on the Federal Government to immediately overhaul the tactics and rules of engagement of the security agencies deployed in Borno and other states in the North-East. They said that the President, who also doubles as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, needed to ensure coherence in the management of the various aspects of security interventions in the zone . They said his obsession with 2015 was a dangerous diversion at a time when real courage and statesmanship were needed in the country. The governors, however, said they would continue to offer support to their colleague in Borno State, Governor Kashim Shettima, and provide necessary humanitarian assistance “in these extremely difficult times.” Earlier, the APC had in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it was shocked and saddened by the enormity of the attacks on Maiduguri. It said nothing in the world could justify the death and collateral damage inflicted on civilians by the insurgents. The party, however, called for a renewed strategy to combat the sect. Such a strategy, it advised, must place a great emphasis on the gathering of intelligence so that such attacks could be nipped in the bud. The party also called for a probe into how hundreds of terrorists could so easily infiltrate military facilities, which are believed to be highly safe. The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, had during a press briefing on the 2014 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration, in Abuja, said more persons were being recruited into the Armed Forces in a bid to contain the activities of terrorists. “The Armed Forces are engaged in additional recruitment and training, because overall, the North- East is more than several countries in West Africa put together in terms of geographical size,” the minister added. Maku also disclosed that the Defence Headquarters had sent a high-powered team to ascertain the extent of the Monday morning attack on the military formations in Maiduguri. The minister, who oversees the Defence Ministry, said Nigeria was facing a stubborn international enemy whose “members operate without uniforms.” He said, “Our soldiers and other security agencies are taking more risks than before… Yesterday(Monday), as you saw in the news this (Tuesday) morning, we had a very painful incident, where the insurgents that we have been battling for some time, managed a very daring attack on our Air Force Base in Maiduguri. “Let me say that the Defence Headquarters has already briefed the media about the incident. I must say that what it tells us is that we are facing a very stubborn international enemy that is really committed to destabilising the peace of the country but I can say with pride that the incident was not only repelled but that those who participated in it faced the fire of special forces. “As we speak to you, the Armed Forces are in Maiduguri with their strong team to give us a full report of what happened. “The point must be made that Nigeria is facing an international enemy that has a long line of supply and that we are not taking it lightly. “Insurgencies of this type are not easy to overcome. For example, in places like Pakistan, Algeria and Yemen there are still cases of penetration even in nearly 10 years of terrorist activities. “If places like Iraq that have been battling with insurgency for over 10 years still have lingering moments, I must say confidently that our Armed Forces are doing everything possible not only to deal decisively with these incidents but ensuring that the North-East and the boundaries of Nigeria were secured.” He said that the Federal Government was looking at the international operations of Boko Haram and the network being employed by it in carrying out attacks on the country. He stressed that while the attacks on Maiduguri were painful, they had alerted the authorities to the need for further steps to secure the country. He said it was wrong for the Boko Haram insurgency in the North- East to be classified as a civil war by the International Criminal Court. The minister argued that the classification of terrorist activities all over the world must be the same. Maku said, “It is amazing that terrorist attack on a country is described as a civil war. When terrorists attack the United States, it is an attack on a peaceful country. When terrorists attack Afghanistan, it is not a civil war. What is happening in Nigeria is a war by terrorists against all Nigerians, especially those who live in the Boko Haram’s operational areas. “It is not a civil war; it is a group of terrorists, with international network, deploying that network to attack innocent people. It’s not a civil war. “We are fighting a group of people who carry out random attacks on our people. They attack Christians and Moslems. What we are facing is a war in which a network of terrorists have used a part of our country to attack our citizens. “The people of Borno State are Nigerians and you can’t define this as a civil war. There would be full response from Nigeria. Terror in Nigeria cannot be different from terror as defined elsewhere.” According to the minister, the classification of Boko Haram as an international terrorist organisation by the US was a further confirmation of Nigeria’s position. He stated that the Federal Government had not contacted the US or any other country for assistance in the war against terrorists because the Armed Forces had the training, the capacity, the competence and the efficiency to tackle them. In Maiduguri, the National Emergency Management Agency said over 300 persons were internally displaced following the on Monday. The Northeastern Public Relations Officer of the agency, AbdulKadir Ibrahim, in an e-mail to journalists, said the 300 persons had been moved to the 33 Artillery Regiment of the Nigerian Army , one of the military bases attacked by the sect . Ibrahim said, “An assessment has been conducted and initial relief materials like beddings, blankets and mosquito nets have been given to the victims in the 33 artillery barracks where we have 300 internally-displaced persons whose homes were affected during the attacks.” He however said the casualty figure could not be given by the agency because it was a security issue. “We do not give casualty figures because of the inherent confusion and security nature of the conflict, the military should be in a better position to provide that,” the NEMA spokesman added. Maku however said the cooperation of the foreign nations was needed by Nigeria because the crisis had assumed an international dimension.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 16:04:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015