. The Special
Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, has said
that it is unfair for anybody to see President Goodluck Jonathan as the problem
in the case of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State on
April 14.
Abati argued
that those criticising the President were ignorant of what the Federal
Government was doing to rescue the girls.
He said the
attempt to ignore the issues and argue that Jonathan was the problem had
resulted in deliberate mischief fuelled by ignorance and sponsored propaganda.
Abati made
his position known in an opinion titled, “Nigeria’s offensive against Boko
Haram Charges of a ‘do-nothing’ strategy are misconceived” published by
Washington Times.
bati however
admitted that the concern that had been expressed over the abduction of the
girls was legitimate and understandable.
“What is not
fair, and which stands out in many of the criticisms directed at the Nigerian
government, is the attempt to ignore the issues and argue that President
Goodluck Jonathan is the problem.
“This attempt
to turn the matter of the abducted girls into a referendum on the Jonathan
administration has resulted in a complete misreading of the situation and much
deliberate mischief fuelled by ignorance and sponsored propaganda,” he wrote.
The presidential
spokesman said the most popular misconception was the notion that the Jonathan
administration had consciously adopted a “do-nothing” strategy, and that the
government only responded and considered international partnership necessary
after pressure was mounted on it to do something.
He recalled
that the Boko Haram threat dated back to 2002 and had become a bigger menace,
and a full-scale terrorist movement by the time Jonathan assumed office in
2010.
He said the
sect’s elements and their international allies had carved out enclaves in the
North-East of the country by hosting their flags and threatening to destabilise
the government and impose an Islamic state.
During the
past four years, Abati said Jonathan had taken proactive steps to combat terrorism,
through military, political and social approaches.
He also
recalled that in May 2013, a state of emergency was declared in the most
affected northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa and had been renewed
twice.
While saying
that Nigeria was not acting alone, Abati said the military operation involved
the Nigerian security forces and the Multinational Joint Task Force set up
under the auspices of the Lake Chad Commission with troops contributed by
Niger, Nigeria and Chad.
Abati said
Nigeria also shared intelligence and efforts with Cameroon and Benin through
the Gulf of Guinea Commission, focusing on piracy, border security and checking
the proliferation of small arms and light weapons within the region.
He said since
2011, Nigerian security chiefs had been meeting regularly with their
counterparts from the four neighbouring countries on matters of peace and
security.
These
efforts, he added, yielded positive results, notably the decimation of the
ranks of the Boko Haram and their restriction to the Sambisa Forest.
He added that
a Presidential Dialogue Committee was set up to pursue the option of a peaceful
resolution of the Boko Haram insurgency while adding that the President also
launched a Presidential Initiative for the North-East, an economic-recovery
programme.
He therefore
argued that the April 14 abduction of the Chibok girls and subsequent
developments marked a turning point in the Boko Haram saga, describing it as a
terrible resurgence of an ongoing challenge, not the beginning.
He said, “The
assault on schools by terrorists and the threat to turn innocent young girls
into sex slaves and prisoners of terrorism is unacceptable. The outrage is
understandable. But we must not become so blinded by its horror as to reduce it
all to the fault of one man. This is not about the strength or failings of one
man.
“Terrorism is
an assault on human rights and our civilisation. It requires international
cooperation and concerted domestic action.
“President
Jonathan is fully committed to ensuring that the girls are rescued alive. Yes,
it has been more than 80 days since the nightmare began. Americans, Canadians,
the British and other friends of Nigeria are all involved in the search, in one
form or the other, but unfortunately, with all the technology and intelligence
at their disposal, the girls are yet to be found,
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