The Minister of National Planning, Dr. Sulaiman Abubakar has said that Nigeria cannot win the war on terrorism with division among itspeople. He stated that it was imperative for all stakeholders to synergise and collaborate with the government in efforts to tackle insurgency in thecountry rather than for some people to sabotage the fight against insurgency. In an interview with journalists in Ilorin on Monday, he noted that terrorism was now an international phenomenon, adding that it did notstart with President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. He stated that there had been former threats to national peace and stability in Nigeria that were not handled well. According to him, Nigerians failed to realize potential and perceived threats in the past. He said it would not be proper to blame Jonathan’s administration for the current insecurity, adding that the government has establishedmany programmes to address insecurity and also to mitigate the loss of the victims. He said that Nigerians, instead of Jonathan should be blamed for the inabiliuty to address insecurity in the country. Abubakar said, “The challenges we are facing today on the area of insecurity is not a new phenomenom. It is a build up. It started some years back. We got to where we got to, not on the account of Mr. President but on the account of our inability as a people, and as law enformement agencies, to identify what constitutes threat to our life. “You can not win the war on terrorism as you can not win any war at all in any country if that territory remains divided. What I see in Nigeria is that the government is doing its own but our people from the North-East and some of our people, that I would not want to mention, are not united. There are divisions and dissenting voices. With that you can not win such a war. “For any strategy to work, it must go along the line of ground strategy. Every party must be on the same page to really prosecute that war. In Nigeria today, we are not on the same page, Government is making effort; equipping the military, restructuring the military, and seeking the assistance of international donor agencies, but as Nigerians, perhaps on account of our political differences, we are not on the same page. “So long as we are not on the same page and so long as we identify people that I refer to as sympathizers to terrorists, we can not win that war. On the part of government, government has done what it should do. But on the part of the politicians, we are yet to do what we should do. Therefore, we must be on the same page with government to win the war against insurgency.” The minister also said the fight against corruption is being hampered by people who have sympathy for corrupt people. He stated that it was unhelpful for people to castigate the federal government whenever any influential person is either arrested orprosecuted for corruption. He stated that many Nigerians were in the habit of taking sides with indicted persons, adding that corruption is a menace which is inimical to national growth and the welfare of the citizens.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 20:33:53 +0000
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