Thursday, November 22, 2012

Boko Haram not faceless – PDP


Contrary to the position of the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan that Boko Haram is a faceless group, the Borno State Peoples Democratic Party yesterday said the Islamic sect is not faceless.

The Borno State PDP Chairman, Alh. Baba Basharu who spoke to journalists at the national secretariat of the party also called for the sack of the Borno State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture Mr. Inuwa Bwala.

He said it was wrong for the Commissioner to have alleged that PDP was behind the killings in Borno State.

The Borno State PDP Chairman argued that Boko Haram is not a faceless group since their members are under detention.

He said, “There are plenty of Boko Haram members in security custody. Boko Haram is not faceless. There are people who don't want government to talk to them. That is our position.”

President Jonathan had, during his media chat on Sunday said Boko Haram is a faceless group.

Reacting to the question on dialoguing with Boko Haram, the President had said, “Presently, the government is not in dialogue with Boko Haram. There is no dialogue with any group. Though there was a news item that there is dialogue. The Boko Haram is still operating under cover.

They have no face. There is no way you are going to negotiate without a face. So far, nobody is discussing with the government, so far, no dialogue.”
But Borno State PDP chairman seems to disagree with the President as he said many of the members are in the security custody.

He traced the crisis in Borno state to former governor of the state, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff losing a senatorial election in 2011.

According to him, Sheriff had sworn not to lose any election but unfortunately he lost a Senate election to a PDP member.

Countering the Commissioner of Information in Borno State who had alleged that PDP was responsible for the killings in the state, he said the crisis in Borno precipitated out of control as a result of bad governance which led to massive unemployment, abuse of the youths of Borno and the subsequent show down between the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) government of Ali Modu Sheriff and the Boko Haram.

"On recorded messages in video, audio and newspapers, which are widely available, the sect vowed to take revenge on Sheriff and his associates. Since then, Borno and indeed Nigeria has not known peace.

"The PDP in Borno State was and is not involved in their quarrels, as we were never a part of Sheriff's government and infact the ex-governor despised the PDP as a party and this has ever remained so.

"The PDP in Borno State still maintains its stand that the cause and source of the insurgency is in the way the government of ANPP under Sheriff managed their relationship.

The solution to the problem cannot be found without getting to the source and cause of the problem. This fact is contained in the reports of the different panels set up by the government in the past".

Asked if the PDP is comfortable that President Jonathan has not visited Borno since all the bombings, he said, "The President did not come to Borno, I think you are carried away and you have forgotten that it is not only in Borno state that something happened. I am expanding this to show you why the President is not at fault if he did not go to Borno as far as we are concerned.

“The ANPP is worried that the President did not come, but we are not worried as such. If the President thinks it is important for him to visit Borno, he is welcome.

But you know that there has been Kalari in Gombe, I think people have forgotten a lot of things. Then there is the Sarasuka in Bauch and Kano, I can go on and on of what has happened.

“You know how a President can be, his own brother of the same family died yesterday, the man has to fly out, so how will you pick this kind of thing just to try to pull down somebody who is trying to build this country. Because he did not go to Maiduguri, so what?

"I don’t believe this is an issue, I don’t believe is an issue, what should be the preoccupation of President Goodluck Jonathan is to administer Nigeria, is not to go to Maiduguri or go to Gombe to look at Kalari or to go to Bauchi to look at Sarasuka.

How many people died in Sarasuka? What I am saying is that we don’t look at this thing because he did not go to Maiduguri as an issue. If the President deems it fit to come to Maiduguri, we will be happy for it".

No comments: