NORTH WONT VOTE JONATHAN DESPITE MAIDUGURI VISIT –ACF. Some prominent Northern groups have condemned President Godluck Jonathan’s visit to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The groups, which doubted the sincerity of the visit, said the President’s trip would remind the residents of the neglect they had suffered under the Jonathan-led administration since Boko Haram began unleashing terror on them in the past six years. Jonathan on Thursday made a surprise visit to Maiduguri, shortly before 3:00 pm after laying wreaths as part of the activities marking the Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Abuja. The President, who was accompanied by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, military top brass and the National Security Adviser as well as about 200 soldiers, was welcome by the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima. The northern groups said the President did not deserve the votes of the “abandoned” people if the purpose of the visit was to seek their support. The Arewa Consultative Forum insisted on Thursday that President Goodluck Jonathan should forget about their votes in the February 14 election. A member of the Board of trustees of the ACF, who craved anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on the matter, told Saturday PUNCH in Kaduna that Jonathan’s sudden visit to Maiduguri because of election was medicine after death. “The North had spoken through the umbrella body of the region that we are going to vote for our own and that is the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd).” He noted that the President’s visit was a belated one, asking: “who is fooling who?” He added that the President’s visit to Maiduguri was a slap on the entire people of the region. The Chairman, National Executive Committee of the ACF and former Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Coomassie, had said the region would support Buhari for the February 14, election. The forum had said, “It is the policy of the ACF to support any northerner in any presidential election. “The ACF therefore wishes to reaffirm that statement and dissociates itself from any contrary statement issued by any other member of the forum,” it added. Similarly, the Secretary, Borno Elders’ Forum, Bulama Gubio, said the President’s “unusual gesture” meant nothing to the residents. He criticised the President for not visiting the North-East since April, 2014 when the Chibok schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Gubio said, “If all he (president) wants to do here is to come and campaign, let him come and do so, at least he is a Nigerian and he has rights.” On the security crisis in the state, Gubio said many youths were losing their lives daily to the insurgency as they were confronting the terrorists. He said, “We are doing our best; we are praying to God. We don’t think of any President now because there is none who is doing anything for us now. Our youths are helping some of the military personnel here to fight for us.” Also the National Coordinator, Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, described the President’s visit as “cynical.” In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, Mohammed said the visit was a ploy to win votes of the troubled people. He said, “I believe that the visit was a cynical ploy to win votes at the expense of the people. It is a cynical and shameless ploy to extort votes from people he disapproves of and whose religion and their very existence he hates. “The recent attack was not the first attack in the North-East, although it was very extreme in its horror and brutality. But obviously there have been hundreds if not thousands of attacks in the North-East and for him to now go only because there is an election forthcoming is cynical.” Mohammed blamed Jonathan for failing to show leadership in the ongoing security challenge being faced in the region. He also described his trip to the region as futile, saying he would lose in the upcoming presidential election. He said, “In his desperation, he wants to go and associate himself with the people of the North-East which in my view is an indication of the kind of person he is. “His trip to Maiduguri is an empty gesture. People should run on their track record. Those who are in the North-East and northerners as a whole have been waiting to hear what he has to say he has done for the North all the years he has been in power, which is over five years. And how he has handled the security crisis in the North-East, in particular. “For five years, he has been complaining that Boko Haram is not an insurgency as such and that it is a conspiracy against his government. What has he done to redeem lives and property destroyed by Boko Haram? Whether it is a conspiracy or not, what is happening in the North-East ruthlessly exposes his incompetence, corruption and the sheer hatred he has for the North. “This is an election he will lose. I want to assure you that he will not win votes no matter how they are conducted in the North-East. No matter what he does, he will not win votes. I know the North more than he does. The visit shows that the man has no respect for human lives and dignity.”
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 05:18:41 +0000
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