SECURITY remained on the front burner yesterday, with the President telling Nigerians that this country is “in a trying period”.
He pleaded that the stifling situation should not be politicised.
The reorganisation and repositioning in the security agencies will continue, he said.
Dr Goodluck Jonathan spoke at the opening of Senate 2012 Retreat, with the theme: “The National Assembly and National Security: Securing the Future for Development” in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
The President has just removed National Security Adviser (NSA) Andrew Azazi and Defence Minister Haliru Mohammed Bello.
The Uyo ceremony was well attended, with Senators chatting and pumping hands. Senate President David Mark seemed to have set the tone for the conviviality. He told the gathering that bombings by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram would not stop the government’s programmes.
To Dr Jonathan, it is “unfortunate” that politics has become a major source of insecurity as shown in the “do-or-die politics” of some politicians.
He particularly referred to “bitter and inflammatory statements emanating from some politicians”, which “have recent times in the history of this country consumed thousands of innocent lives”.
“Now is the time for us to reclaim our prosperity. We must not play politics with everything particularly on sensitive matters of National Security,” said the President, adding:
“This is a trying period for all of us. Nigerians deserve a country that is peaceful and secure.
“As elected leaders, our primary responsibility is to protect all our citizenry and those who come here to work and visit.
“As food security is necessary, we want national security. We are committed to fiscal responsibility and consolidation.
“We recognised that we have several challenges, including terrorism, which undermines our national security.
“The Senate needs a body of all political parties to work to elevate national security above politics.
“We have experienced militancy in the oil producing areas in the South, kidnapping and cyber crimes in our country.
“Unfortunately, politics has become a major source of insecurity as evidenced in the do-or-die politics of some politicians.
“The root cause of this menace is weak moral foundations, poverty, dirty politics, poor governance, unemployment and fanatism.
“Whatever may be the cause, the solution lies in stronger union.”
The President went philosophical. He said: “If God didn’t will it, we will not be together today as a country of Christians, Moslems and traditionalists.
“If God didn’t will it, we will not be together as people of ethnic groups. If God didn’t will it, we will not be Nigerians of today.
“Our unity is the will of God.
Those who want to weaken us use axes but we’ve refused to be weakened.
“Let us unite to defeat the forces of darkness. Let us unite to prosper. We must work together to achieve our national security objectives.
“Although our system of brotherliness rests on separation of powers among the three arms of government, this principle doesn’t call for working in silence. It calls for synergy and modality of purpose.
“Our country has walked a difficult road since our independence in
1960 but make no mistake Nigeria is moving forward.”
On corruption, he noted that governance requires that the government must continue to tackle the menace at all levels.
The President noted that the executive and legislative arms of the government must continue to work together to fight corruption.
Jonathan said the government has over the past one year intensified the security system and has carefully studied the activities of terrorists around the continent.
He stressed that no challenge is too difficult when leaders cooperate, adding: “I believe through the support of our legislature we will bring the menace of Boko Haram to an end.”
Jonathan urged the National Assembly to review laws that would make it easier to track down terrorists and duly punish them.
On budget, he said that national budget should always be seen as Nigerian budget and not executive budget.
He noted that it was only when annual budget was seen as a fiscal estimate meant to better the lives of Nigerians that its implementation would be easy.
He said: “I want to appeal to the National Assembly, we don’t need to quarrel over the budget; the budget is for Nigeria.”
Mike identified Boko Haram (Western education is sin) insurgency as a major security challenge.
Mark warned that if care was not taken to confront Boko Haram, the sect’s activities might lead the country to break up.
He said: “The question is, ‘can elders in the North solve this menace? If they can’t, let them say so. Because the impression the government is getting is that there are some groups of elders who can solve the problem.
“I think it is proper for them to come out to solve the problem because Nigeria has to be one for others to exist.
“The way the Boko Haram exercise is going at the moment, God forbid, it may result into the break-up of this country because people will not take it for too long. I called on the elders to come out frankly and assist to solve the problem.”
He went on: “How long will the people wait? There is limit to patience, even when it is stated that vengeance is of God”.
Mark insisted that government programmes must continue, despite increasing terrorist activities.
“Once you stop carrying out your programme, then the terrorists have succeeded. Government programme, must go on as designed.
“If Mr. President is to visit Borno State tomorrow, he must visit it.
He mustn’t stop because of Boko Haram,” said the Senate President, adding: “If Mr. President is to visit Port Harcourt tomorrow, he must make that visit because the moment the terrorists stop you from accomplishing any government programme then they have succeeded and we don’t want them to succeed.
“The consequences of Boko Haram at the moment are so numerous. There is already mass movement on regional basis, which is not good for this country.
“It is also promoting ethnic, religious conflicts, which are also not good for this country.”
The Senate President lamented that underdevelopment in the north has become “very” obvious.
His words: “Already, people are saying the North is not developed and now with Boko Haram; will that add to the development in the North? The answer is no; we are shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Mark urged the government to direct its searchlight to how terrorists are funded and where their training is being carried out.
But noted that the solution to Boko Haram now is that “we must dialogue with the group”.
But he insisted that the sect must make their leaders known “because government cannot dialogue with a faceless group.”
According to him, if leaders of Boko Haram come out today for the dialogue, “they will not be arrested because we need to know the people behind them”.
Mark said that the fact that leaders of the sect have refused to come out for dialogue is because they know what they are doing is evil.
He said: “We must revisit the current law on terrorism. We must seek external support and cooperation.
“We shouldn’t be ashamed to do so because if we can’t handle the situation we need to seek support.
“All over the world, there is cooperation. Britain is cooperating with America; Israel is cooperating America on terrorism. So, we cannot be an Island on our own.”
He said, “The problem we have in this country today is Boko Haram as far as security is concerned.
“People have stated the causes of the action of the Boko Haram sect.
“They say it is poverty. To me, poverty is not the reason. If every poor man decides to be a suicide bomber, Nigeria’s safety would not exist.
“Secondly, people have said it is lack of education; I agreed, but we cannot overcome that overnight.
“Government has taken the right steps in educating the almajaris in the North. We have agreed that the almajaris must be properly educated.
“When we talk of unemployment; again when everybody that is unemployed decides to become a suicide bomber, who is going to remain and how many people are going to be employed?
I don’t think there is any country in the world everybody is employed, but government should create and must make efforts to create a conducive environment for most Nigerians to be employed.”
Mark said that religious fundamentalism must be addressed as a way out of the nation’s security challenges.
He said: “I am not in any way a religious scholar, but out of curiosity I read a paper the other day about Islamic belief and stand on suicide bomber and it is the same on the Christian stand on suicide.
“If you commit suicide as a Christian, you are destined for hell.
Islam has the same provision.
“So who are these preachers who are telling them (Boko Haram adherents) ‘as a suicide bomber you go to heaven and there will be 77 virgins for you’.
“I think there is something fundamentally wrong with that preaching, but I believe that we must begin to look at what we say and make sure that that sort of preaching does not hold ground.”
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