• Says FG was unprepared for suicide bombings
MARCH 29, 2012 BY OLALEKAN ADETAYO 3 COMMENTS
President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday said Nigerians’ penchant for politicising issues was responsible for the violent activities of the Boko Haram sect.
Jonathan, who spoke in Seoul at an interactive session with the Nigerian community in South Korea, after attending an international nuclear summit, said his administration had had a difficult time containing the sect because it was not getting enough cooperation from the people.
The President, who did not elaborate, said in other countries like the United States, the people as well as political parties usually rallied round their leaders in times of national crisis. But he lamented that in Nigeria, the usual style was for politics to be read into every issue.
He said, “We Nigerians must also build a country that our children will be proud of. That is the essence of our transformational leadership.
“We feel that certain things have to be done differently, though it is difficult in a country where they play politics with everything.
“Everything is politicised; for example, when the Americans were attacked during 911, every American was together with the government of the day, yet they have political parties.
“When a country is challenged, everybody comes together to fight back. But in Nigeria, we play politics with everything. This is what we have seen and we will get over it.”
The President said the spate of insecurity in some parts of the country was a source of worry to his administration.
He said his administration was unprepared to handle suicide bombing and kidnapping, noting that unlike armed robbery, they were novel security challenges.
Boko Haram introduced suicide bombing in Nigeria when a suspected member of the group detonated explosives in a car he drove into the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja on June 16, 2011.
Ever since, the sect has claimed responsibility for a number of other suicide bomb attacks. These include the August 26, 2011 suicide bomb attacks on the Abuja headquarters of the United Nations mission in Nigeria and some churches in Jos, Plateau State and Madalla, Niger State.
Jonathan recalled that after the failed attempt by Nigerian-born Umar AbdulMutallab to bomb an American airliner on Christmas Day in 2009, his administration felt such could never happen in Nigeria. He also said his administration believed AbdulMutallab took the step because of foreign influences he imbibed while studying abroad.
But, regrettably, he added, “we didn’t know that it (terrorism) was coming. Now we are faced with the reality.”
He, however, assured that terrorism was on a downward trend in Nigeria as adequate steps had been taken to curtail the threat.
“Our security architecture never expected suicide bombing and therefore was not prepared for it. But immediately we were confronted, we had to acquire the relevant technology and architecture and now we are working very hard. We are monitoring and the security agencies are working very hard.
“In fact, most of you would not know as much as I do because not everything about our security activities is advertised. A number of people have been arrested that we cannot advertise. There are certain critical people that if you get, you will be able to extract information from them,” he said.
Jonathan assured the gathering that security agencies were taking necessary steps to put an end to terrorism in the country.
He said a number of foreign leaders commended him during his stay in Seoul for taking decisive actions against the menace.
The President reiterated his earlier position that before the middle of the year, cases of bombings would have been reduced to the barest minimum.
“One is not God to say there will be no security issues. All over the world, there are security challenges.
“Human beings by nature want to do something that is evil, so government must be on its own toes and will continue to be on its toes. This is because foreign direct investments will be affected and our economy will be affected, so we are working very hard,” he said.
The President again promised Nigerians that his government would make significant changes that would set the nation on the path of progress.
He expressed the hope that with commitment, dedication, discipline and sacrifices, Nigeria would occupy its right place in the comity of nations.
The President noted that generally, Nigerians in the Diaspora were doing well.
He recalled that the last time he visited the United States, President Barrack Obama described Nigerians as wonderful people.
He said Obama noted that there was a great number of Nigerians doing well in medicine and other areas.
Earlier, Nigerian Ambassador to South Korea , Desmond Akawo, said Nigerians in the country were of good behaviour.
He said there was an occasion when a Nigerian returned 60 million South Korean Won (N8.32m) overpaid him by a bank in the Asian country. He noted that this act drew commendation from South Koreans and increased their respect for Nigerians.
He said that Nigerians in the country were law-abiding people, noting that they organised the session to interact with the President and commend his style of governance.
President of the Nigerian community in South Korea, Mr. Chima Nwike, suggested that a passport machine be deployed in the Nigerian embassy in the Asian country, so that their children would not have to travel to China to obtain travel documents.
He thanked the President for the state burial accorded the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, which he said was evidence of genuine reconciliation.
SOURCE: Vanguard Newspaper, 29 March 2012. http://www.punchng.com/
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