By NDAHI MARAMA, Maiduguri
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday in Maiduguri, accused Borno State Elders of playing to the gallary over the activities of Boko Haram Islamic sect insurgency in the state, describing the situation as unfortunate.
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday in Maiduguri, accused Borno State Elders of playing to the gallary over the activities of Boko Haram Islamic sect insurgency in the state, describing the situation as unfortunate.
Jonathan spoke during an interactive session with Borno State stakeholders at the Multi-Purpose Hall, Government House Maiduguri, in continuation of his two- day working visit to Borno and Yobe States, the epicentres of Boko Haram.
He was responding to requests by the Elders for the Federal Government to grant amnesty to the sect members as well as withdraw the military Joint Task Force, JTF from Maiduguri and other areas in the state during the second day of his working visit to Borno State..
President Jonathan lamented that none of the elders in the state had publicly condemned the killings and bombings being carried out by the sect members and advised them to put their ‘’house in order,’’ by talking to their children who had been causing havoc in the country to drop their arms against the country.
President Goodluck Jonathan (l) with Gov Kashim Shettima of Borno State during a meeting between the President and the State Executive Council in Maiduguri on Friday
On the removal of JTF, Jonathan said, “If anyone of you (referring to Borno Elders) wants the Federal Government to withdraw JTF troops from the state, he should come and sign an agreement that if anybody is killed after signing the document, I will hold you responsible according to the law of the land; I assure you that before I go back to Abuja all the JTF troops will leave the state.
“The Boko Haram insurgency is reducing gradually in states like Bauchi, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe and Niger among others, but in Borno State the situation is increasing. It is unfortunate, and this is because you the elders refused to come out and condemn the activities of the sect who are your children. This is not a time to be playing to the gallery,” the President stated.
He equally told the Elders that, unless they put their house in order and talk to the sect members who are their children to lay down their arms and embrace peace, the Federal Government will not grant them amnesty, not to talk of withdrawing the men of the JTF.
None of the elders responded to the President’s challenge, but various speakers had tasked the Federal Government to remove all the bunkers/checkpoints and the JTF troops on the streets of Maiduguri, as well as grant amnesty to Boko Haram who have been terrorizing the state.
But Jonathan continued, “the types of weapons the Boko Haram are using are so sophisticated that the Police cannot contain the situation and that is why we had to bring JTF troops to face the challenge. No responsible government would spend its tax payers money on JTF, but when the situation warrants like in this case of Boko Haram, then we as government will not hesitate in spending our last kobo in order to bring peace.”
He further said that “even when I was contesting for governor of Bayelsa State which I won, I was always telling my supporters that I do not want any blood shed.
In fact, on my bill boards, it was stated ‘Don’t Kill’, and as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, if one soldier or security agent is killed by Boko Haram, it really pains me, and I will not condone such act. I will not celebrate the death of any JTF member or security agent anywhere in this country. So, please talk to your children who are members of the sect to lay down their arms for peace to reign.”
Commenting on job creation through agriculture, the President assured the people of the state that his administration would support the initiatives of Governor Kashim Shettima by partnering with him over the Chad Basin Development Authority and the Lake Chad Research Institute for the betterment of the state through enhancement in food security and income generation.
”My vision for this country is how to impact positively on the lives of every Nigerian; how to change this country by alleviating poverty and unemployment; make food available to the people, provide qualitative education, improve our power supply and make our waterways to be navigable. And all these will not be possible if we do not have peace,” he added.
Jonathan then reassured the people of the state that the Federal Government would assist Governor Shettima’s programmes, particularly his Youth Empowerment plans, adding that through such partnerships, all the schools, places of worship, markets and stalls destroyed by Boko Haram insurgency across the state would be rebuilt.
The forum had in attendance top politicians, traditional/religious leaders, academicians and diplomats from Borno, including an Elder stateman and fisrt Minister for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ali Monguno, former Governors Mohammed Goni, Ashiekh Jarma, Ali Modu Sheriff, Professor Nur Alkali, Borno PDP Chairman, Alhaji Baba Basharu, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, House of Representative members, Borno State Executive Council members and members of the business community.
Those who spoke on the security challenges in the state included Professor Alkali, former Vice- Chancellor University of Maiduguri, Alhaji Basharu, Mohammed Tahir Monguno and Chairman, Borno House of Representative Caucus, Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno.
All the speakers, except Monguno called on the Federal Government to immediately withdraw the JTF troops from the state, alleging that their presence had aggravated the security challenges, as according to them, whenever the sect struck, the whole area would be cordoned off by the JTF and the next thing was for the security operatives to start killing innocent citizens and burning down their business structures.
But Monguno insisted in his speech, that withdrawal of the troops was not the solution to the lingering crisis, as according to him, “if not because of the presence of the JTF, I would not surrender my life to come to Maiduguri, or even attend this forum.”
Earlier, Governor Shettima who received the President during his courtesy call at the Council Chambers told him that the unfortunate insurgency spearheaded by the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad a.k.a Boko Haram had left in its wake a heavy death toll and destruction, pointing out that hundreds of human lives had been lost while property worth hundreds of millions of naira were destroyed, in addition to the unquatifiable losses occassioned by the crippling of businesses and other socio- economic activities.
According to Shettima, the current state of insecurity and deplorable state of affairs were not unconnected with the attempt to impose the opinion of a small group on the larger society, a situation which clearly abridged the freedom to freely hold and express ones opinion which is fundamental and inalienable in any given society.
He added that, as a society, the state has had its fair share of instability and even wars in its chequered history including the sacking of Birnin Ngazargamu by the jihadists in 1808, Rabi’s invasion and occupation in 1893 and the Maitasine riots of the 1980s.
The Governor further pointed out that in all these crises, destructive and vicious as they were, the wars did not degenerate into killing of innocent souls, targeting of public recreational centers, places of worships in a sustained and protracted manner, as Borno was sadly witnessing today.
He noted that the targeting of innocent and unarmed civilians regardless of their ethnicity, race and or religious beliefs was alien not only to our norms and culture, but to the fundamental doctrines of Islam.
However, Shettima said as a responsible government the state had refused to allow the situation deter his adminitration as he had embarked on a single minded pursuit of the developmental aspirations of their people.
”In spite of all the odds, we have not relented for a single moment in our determination to provide quality service for the people of Borno State in the areas of education, health, agriculture, water supply, roads, decent and affordable housing and general infrastructure among many others.
By the special grace of Allah we have worked day and night and judiciously utilized our resources for the greatest good of the greatest number of our people,” he added.
Shettima stressed that while his administration was ‘’indeed doing its best and intend to do even more in the days, months and years ahead to achieve its mission of re-inventing and re-engineering Borno, it is an open secret that the resources are severely limited.’’
He said that even in relatively stable times, scarce resource scarcity had been one of the state’s major problems, adding that, conflicts and strife and their unpleasant consequences had complicated the issue further.
He therefore thanked the President for the visit and solicited federal government’s assistance in his policies and programmes, particularly the fight against the poverty scourge, as according to him, the insurgency they are facing in the state and the north, are borne out of extreme poverty and social exclusivity.
