IMMEDIATE past National Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has
advocated immediate dialogue with Boko Haram terrorists
in order to stem killings resulting from their activities.
He observed in a chat with newsmen, in Abuja, on
Thursday that everywhere war was fought around the
world, the parties involved resorted to dialogue at the end.
The former party boss therefore advised that dialogue
should not be ignored in the efforts to resolve the present
security challenges in the country.
He said: “All the insurgencies, believe me, one time or the
other, must end in dialogue. So, don’t put dialogue aside.
“They are doing that in Iraq, in Iran and so on. So, dialogue
is the answer, but let us make it faster so that we can save
the souls of those who normally perish through the acts of
insurgents.”
Tukur spoke against the backdrop of the most recent bomb
attack which took place at EMAB Plaza in Abuja on
Wednesday, where at least 21 persons lost their lives and
many more were wounded.
He called for the strengthening of the nation’s security
forces through training and adequate equipment if
terrorists must be stopped, adding that the Federal
Government should also go into diplomatic cooperation
with neighbouring countries to ensure that they are
enlisted in the war against terror.
Tukur called for patriotism on the part of citizens, saying
“we have a nation. We need to ensure that patriotism is the
hallmark. If we love ourselves, we must love our nation.
“We see what happens when people kill without mercy. We
have to strengthen our defence,” he said, noting that
“while the security forces are doing their bit, citizens must
be watchful.”
Tukur observed that the security challenges facing the
nation was more than ordinary and therefore, the whole
nation must rise against the evil.
“These things are not ordinary. We must resolve to stand
against all those doing this to the nation,” he declared.
Recalling the 3Ds agenda of “Defence, Dialogue and
Diplomacy,” which he pressed for during his time as the
PDP boss, Tukur remarked that since the party had
presence in all the nooks and crannies of the country, it
could spread the message contained in the agenda to all
Nigerians.
He said in spite of the killings in the country, Nigerians
should not lose hope and must continue to pray for God to
touch the hearts of the perpetrators.
On the 2015 general elections, the former PDP boss warned
politicians against heating up the polity, telling them that
they should think of ways to improve the system rather
than making it worse.
He said politicians must realise that it was the people who
elected those they wanted and their choices must be
respected.

SOURCE: www.platform9ja..nl/2014/06/dialogue-with-boko-haram-now-tukur.html?m=1

If that was what he said verbatim then I smh.