The Deputy Senate
President, Ike Ekweremadu, on Thursday said the Boko Haram insurgency had
worsened under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ekweremadu said
the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration had almost rolled back
Boko Haram and its activities in the North-East.
The deputy senate
president also expressed the fear the insurgents could also attack Abuja and
the southern part of the country soon.
Speaking to
journalists in Abuja, he chose not to answer questions on his alleged
involvement in the forgery of senate rules but said he had been worried about
the renewed attacks by Boko Haram.
He said, “I am
worried about the resurgence of Boko Haram activities in Nigeria. Shortly
before the inauguration of the present government, the country had almost
rolled back Boko Haram and its activities in every part of Nigeria – from
Adamawa to Borno to Yobe.
“I was hoping
that when we come back in the 8th Assembly, that I will work with our
colleagues from the North-East to develop a plan of action that will help to
rehabilitate that part of Nigeria. I feel so concerned about the suffering of
our people from the North-East of Nigeria.
“I had hoped that
by now we would be tasking ourselves on how best to rebuild that part of
Nigeria. Regrettably the actions of Boko Haram seem to have resurfaced now; not
only in Borno, they have carried out their activities also in Plateau, they
have gone to Adamawa and Kaduna.
“I am worried
that if nothing is done, the next target would be Abuja. Maybe they will start
going to the South. It is important for us as those in government, whether
executive or legislature, to come together to find solutions to these
problems.”
He therefore
appealed to Nigeria’s neighbouring countries and the international community to
support the country to roll back the activities of Boko Haram, stressing that
there was no way the nation could achieve progress in the country without
peace.
He said the
Buhari administration should, as a matter of urgency, “deal with this security
challenge no matter what it would cost us.”
He also called
for collaboration between the executive and the legislature in order to deal
with the scourge.
“We must be on
the same page on this matter. I believe that it is time for us to have meetings
with the executive as well as the security agencies in order to find out
exactly what has happened – why the resurgence of these Boko Haram activities
and what we can do as a people to ensure that this matter is dealt with
decisively,” Ekweremadu said.
He expressed
sympathy with the Boko Haram’s victims and called for an immediate action to
stop the menace.
He said, “We
believe our President would sit on top of this situation because we believe
that Nigerians are worried about this situation and they would like to see an
end to Boko Haram activities.
“We would like to
do everything to encourage our President, to support him and bring this
situation to an end so that we would be able to have peace within this area –
the North-East of Nigeria and indeed all parts of Nigeria.
“Whatever has
caused this insurgence, we need to address it and aggressively too before it
gets too late. I am very worried about the situation. I do hope that we would
be able to work together to find solution to this and come to the end of this
Boko Haram activities.
“It is not giving
us any good image, it is damaging our reputation all over the world, it is
damaging our lives, and it is damaging our properties. It has disoriented our
brothers and sisters in the North-East.
“The education
sector has suffered there, even the economy of the place has suffered so much,
and our brothers and sisters from other part of the country that lived there
have since left the place. It is a big challenge we must all come together to
deal with.”
The deputy senate
president, nevertheless, expressed the hope that the nation would overcome the
challenge.
“I will like to
assure our friends and the international community that the challenge, though
enormous, is not beyond our control,” he said.
In reaction, the
Presidency said Ekweremadu was entitled to his opinion.
The Special
Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said this in
an interview with one of our correspondents.
Adesina said the
fact that the deputy president of the Senate made such statement did not make
it right.
“Senator Ekweremadu
is entitled to his opinion. That however does not mean that he is right,” the
presidential spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the
United States has said that defeating Boko Haram requires a comprehensive
approach.
The US Deputy
Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, at a press conference on Thursday in
Abuja, assured Nigeria of America’s support “as Nigeria develops this
comprehensive approach.”
Blinken stated
that rescuing the abducted Chibok schoolgirls remained one of US priorities.
He said,
“Defeating Boko Haram requires a comprehensive approach that involves the
region and includes not only a strong military response, but also sustainable
security for liberated areas, good governance, development, and opportunity for
the civilian population.
“It also requires
a strong commitment to human rights, the absence of which only alienates the
people and drives them toward Boko Haram. As Nigeria develops this
comprehensive approach, the United States will deepen our support.”
The deputy
secretary of state said the US had been assisting Nigeria by providing
training, equipment, advice, information, intelligence sharing and logistic
support, adding that America recently donated $40m to the global security fund
as part of the moves to promote joint efforts with the Lake Chad countries to
strengthen cross-border security, cooperation and capacity to combat Boko
Haram.
Also, Blinken
stated that the US government, as part of the support package, released $5m to
the Multinational Joint Task Force to strengthen the fight against the
insurgents.
He assured that
his country would begin training for investigators and training on border
security, post-blast investigation and crisis management.
Blinken said, “I
know there are many more young girls and women who are missing, our focus is on
them as well. We will continue to provide assistance to the government in an
attempt to look for them, find them and bring them home.”