APC Says It Has No Hand In Boko Haram
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dared the PDP to urgently make
available to the Nigerian public any evidence of the opposition's alleged
involvement in the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency or forever shut up
”We have absolutely no hand in this insurgency, and we dare anyone with
contrary information to publish such today. It is trite that he who
alleges must prove,” the party said in a statement issued in Lagos on
Friday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
It said that In the absence of any evidence, Nigerians will have no choice
but to conclude that the relentless finger-pointing by the PDP/Presidency
is a ploy to divert attention from those who are actually behind this
insurgency, those who see it as a trump card to 2015 and those who have
been benefitting massively from the huge funds being allocated to
security.
APC said the latest accusation by the PDP is being made within the
framework of its plan to frame up the opposition and clamp down on its
leaders ahead of the 2015 general elections, having realized that it (PDP)
cannot possibly win the 2015 elections due to its appalling record of
failure.
”Otherwise, how can the PDP-led federal government claim to have 'evidence
of meetings held outside the shores of the country' to violently overthrow
the government of President Jonathan, and yet refuse to make such evidence
public or arrest and try those involved? Or is it only the riotous
spokesman of the ruling party who has the evidence?” the party queried.
It also slammed the PDP for suffering from selective amnesia by its warped
interpretation of APC's statement, which pointed out to the ruling party
that President Jonathan is not the first minority Nigerian leader, hence
the people should be spared the boring reference to his ethnic origin.
”It is a reflection of PDP's diabolical mind that it only picked out the
former minority leaders who are soldiers and left out the name of a former
civilian leader. We mentioned three former leaders who are of minority
ethnic stock: Tafawa Balewa (Sayewa), Yakubu Gowon (Angas) and Sani Abacha
(Kanuri).
”Curiously but not unfathomably, the PDP dropped the name of Balewa and
then extrapolated from the fact that we mentioned two former military
leaders that we are comparing a democratically-elected President with
defunct military dictatorships. This can only be the product of a
contorted mind. Good a thing, Nigerians understand better and will not be
fooled by such a sickening stretch!” APC said.
The party reiterated its earlier statement that the only reason this
insurgency has persisted is the incompetence, cluelessness, inferiority
complex and collusion of the presidency.
”First, we heard from no other personality than President Jonathan himself
that his cabinet is infested with Boko Haram. Then the PDP started
pointing fingers at some imaginary opposition leaders as being behind the
insurgency, and now the President has openly admitted his own incompetence
by saying his administration has been treating terrorism with kid gloves.
”Pray, where in the world can any battle against terrorism be won when the
government is treating such with kid gloves? Need we ask why the
government has failed woefully to tackle terrorism in Nigeria? Need we ask
why the government has patently ignored all suggestions from us and many
Nigerians on how to tackle the terrorists rampaging in the North-east?” it
asked.
APC said in order to drive the point deep into the thick skull of those at
the helm, it hereby restates its earlier recommendations on how best to
tackle the insurgency: Develop a discernible counter-terrorism strategy
that will clearly identify the multiple means for preventing, responding
and defeating terrorist groups, including the alignment of political,
military, social and economic instruments and objectives; improve
intelligence gathering; de-radicalize the affected areas; and invest in
research that will give more insight into the different aspects of Boko
Haram, including its ideology, leadership structure, profile of members,
internal organization, sources of funding and weapons and links to
diaspora.
”Others are the need to widen the scope of our response to include the
sub-regional bloc ECOWAS and the continental body African Union,
especially since Boko Haram has assumed a regional dimension; the need for
a Marshall Plan of sorts for the North-east, not the paltry 2 billion
Naira which the FG provided as recovery fund to the six North-east states,
at least four of which are worse-hit by the insurgency; an end to
inter-agency rivalries that have weakened the fight against the
terrorists, and the need to lift the morale of our gallant men and women
in uniform who are battling the insurgency, instead of the huge funds
allocated for the purpose of upgrading their equipment being guzzled by
thieves.”