Sunday, September 07, 2014

Borno Seeks Northeast Stakeholders’ Security Summit
Damage done to Chibok area in Borno State during July 2014.
Written by Lawrence Njoku Enugu and Azimazi Momoh Jimoh Abuja Tunde Akinola Lagos
Nigerian Guardian

Ohanaeze youths want APC to apologise over Ihejirika

Methodist Prelate hopeful insurgency won’t hinder 2015 polls

CITING the need to review the unabating security problems in the North Eastern part of the country, Borno State Government yesterday called for an immediate meeting of stakeholders and elder statesmen from the region to come up with appropriate solutions.

Secretary to the State Government, Ambassador Baba Ahmad Jidda at a press conference tagged “Imperatives of peace before Politicking” in Abuja said that scheming for elective offices in the face of such a huge threat to the survival of the nation was unfortunate.

According to Jidda, “At this very moment, most parts of Borno State are being occupied by Boko Haram insurgents. Government presence and administration is minimal or non-existent across many parts of the state, with economic, commercial and social services totally subdued. Schools and clinics remain closed. Most settlements in the state have either been deserted or access to them practically impossible. Thus majority of the political stakeholders cannot, in real fact reach their constituencies. So, the threat of insecurity affects everybody irrespective of political differences.”

“The enabling environment for politics and electioneering campaign is simply not obtainable at present in Borno State. In the view of many, the thought about politics and pursuit of political interest in this environment appears absurd, callous and morally repulsive,” Jidda maintained.

Meanwhile, the youth wing of the pan Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, threatened to sanction the All Progressives Congress, APC, if it failed to apologize within 48 hours to Igbo and the former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika whom it allegedly attempted to brand as Boko Haram sponsor.

The group warned that if the APC failed to tender the apology as demanded, they would label it an anti-Igbo party while other sanctions would follow.

The group issued the ultimatum to APC in a statement from its national secretariat entitled “Ongoing attempts to brand General Ihejirika a Boko Haram sponsor,” and signed by its National Secretary, Emmanuel Okwu Nnabuike and Publicity Secretary, Obinna Adibe.

In Lagos, the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Emeka Kanu Uche yesterday urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a level playing ground for all in the upcoming 2015 general elections. He also expressed hope that the current insecurity in the country would not stop the polls from being successful.

The cleric, who said this during the thanksgiving service to commemorate the 1st year anniversary of his election as the prelate of the church added, “Insecurity in Nigeria will soon be a thing of the past. I can say this because the international community has identified with us.

  Uche however, implored politicians to desist from using the common men to foment violence during election, stating Nigerians should be allowed to use the ballot box to determine who rules them.

On the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, Uche said Nigeria has not been able to use force to get them back in order to save their lives because fighting terrorists is not a conventional warfare.

  “I also believe our soldiers have woken up to the task of confronting these terrorists, the reason there seemed to be a setback in the fight was because their weapons were a bit obsolete but they have put things in order now. They are now bombarding them and very soon you will hear that Boko Haram is history.

  “Terrorism will not affect the 2015 election, the election will come and a new president will be elected next year. I do not entertain any fear concerning the 2015 election. The security agencies should ensure there is orderliness in the conduct of the polls,” he said.

In Delta State, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan yesterday called for support and collaboration with President Goodluck Jonathan to enable him tackle the challenges of Boko Haram.

Uduaghan, who made the call during a church service at the Avenue Baptist Church, Warri, Delta State, said that the support became necessary because of the peculiar security challenges facing the country.

According to the Governor, “there is no President that faced the type of challenges our President is facing today, let us rally round him and continue to pray for President Jonathan and our brothers and sisters in the North because they are facing a lot of challenges.”

“As a nation, we have the challenge of Boko Haram, we should pray that those who do not want others to live will not also live,” Uduaghan said.

He scored his administration high in the area of security, noting that the peace and security agenda of his administration has ensured that gun battles, which were familiar occurrences in Warri before his election were no longer obtainable.

He assured Deltans that even with few months to the end of his tenure, security operatives have taken proactive measures to ensure that the peace the people were enjoying would be sustained and improved on in the days ahead.

Besides, the Governor assured Deltans of massive rehabilitation of dilapidated roads across the state in the coming months particularly those damaged by the rains.

“Most governors have their lowest rating during the rainy season because, construction work would be at its lowest ebb,” Uduaghan stated, however re-assuring, “Rain disturbs construction work, but, we will start the construction and renovation of roads once the rain stops in the next two months.”

Uduaghan challenged Deltans to keep the drains free of debris to allow free flow of water and control flooding, stating, “we should try and keep our drains tidy and for those of us who have money, do not build on the waterways because when there is flood, it affects everybody.”

“We should have a change of attitude towards environment, we should keep it neat for our own comfort and safety,” he emphasized.

In a sermon, Rev. Dr. Gilbert Oghifo observed that God loves the world so much that He gave his son Jesus Christ to save humanity and urged the people to imbibe the spirit of giving, be obedient to the word of God, as well as show love and understanding to one another.

“Giving is a grace, it is not just an act, God has given us the grace of giving,” he said and urged Christians to give freely to those in need and also “give themselves fully to the Lord.”

“Giving is also, rendering unto God, praises for everything that we have experienced-the graces of God, we should give liberally, freely and willingly without any compunction,” Rev. Oghifo said.

The Borno State SSG continued “In the light of this grim scenario, it is absolutely essential for all patriotic citizens of Borno State to rise up in a united spirit to focus and solve the challenges posed by insecurity, which is a real threat to our collective survival. In this regard, it is hereby proposed first, that a meeting of all stakeholders, elders and statesmen from Borno State, irrespective of sectarian, ethnic and political persuasions should be convened to review the state of affairs in Borno State.

“Second, this group should seek audience with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to present collectively the unbearable conditions imposed on the people of Borno State by this crisis, including the agony and pains of the abducted Chibok girls and their parents. Such an approach is expected to specifically open gates for decisively tackling insecurity and its attendant economic and social burdens on our Borno State, the North-East Zone and Nigeria as a whole. This approach is envisaged to rescue Borno State and return peace to create the essential environment for normal life and politics.

“Finally, related to this, is the proposed bye-election for Jere LG House of Assembly Constituency. It is imperative to appeal to INEC to postpone forthwith, this bye-election slated for 3rd October 2014.

This fervent call is necessary because the environment is not conducive for conducting elections. At the moment, Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere Local Governments are full of refugees from Marte, Gwoza, Ngala, Bama and other parts of the state.

“I wish to stress once again that in Borno State today, restoration of peace and normal life should be the essential and urgent concern. Pursuit of personal or partisan interests can wait till peace, law and order is fully obtained.’’

The Ohanaeze youths strongly condemned the attempt to damage the hard-earned reputation of General Ihejirika, the immediate past Chief of Army Staff on spurious allegation of being a Boko Haram sponsor.

The group said: “It is on record that the same people trying to frame up Ihejirika are the same people who claimed they would make Nigeria ungovernable for President Jonathan in the aftermath of the 2011 presidential election.

“We view the call for Ihejirika’s trial by the All Peoples’ Congress (APC) without bothering to confirm the authenticity of the statement as malicious and premeditated.

“Now that the Director of State Security has officially absolved Ihejirika of any complicity in the matter, we ask the APC to issue an apology to General Ihejirika and Ndigbo within 48 hours.

“If they fail to do so, the APC shall be formally labeled an anti-Igbo party and other sanctions shall follow.

“Security is too weighty a matter to be politicized. Therefore, it is unpatriotic for political leaders to embark on character assassination based on unsubstantiated and misguided rumours.

“Dr. Stephen Davies has shown himself to be a fraudulent character and a mercenary, whose stock in trade is the distortion of information in order to cause chaos, thereby creating more business for him”.

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo youth wing noted that he (Davies) employed a cheap propaganda tactics by naming former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, who has been consistently linked with the emergence and sponsorship of Boko Haram as the sect’s sponsor, believing that linking him with Ihejirika as a co-sponsor would lend credibility to the story.

The group added that unfortunately, he (Davies) did not proffer a single shred of evidence or motivation for Ihejirika, a Christian and an Igbo from the South East to sponsor Boko Haram, pointing out that his claim that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official who handled the funding of Boko Haram “is an uncle to three of the Nyanya bombing suspects was equally dismissed by the DSS thereby showing his story to be faulty.”

Citing the DSS they said, “it is uncharitable for Nigerians to reward someone who laid down his life in defence of his country by associating him with the sponsorship of the sect.”

The group, therefore, warned all those involved in the smear campaign to desist from such wicked and unpatriotic acts immediately and saluted Gen Ihejirika once more for the great job he did as a Chief of Army Staff, especially with regards to fighting the Boko Haram insurgency. 

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