By Mitaire Ikpen
Abuja — Frontline elder statesman and
acclaimed leader of the Ijaw nation, Chief Edwin
Kiagbodo Clark, yesterday, challenged the
northern elite, comprising the governors of the
19 northern states, to prove their commitment to the peace and continued co-existence of
Nigeria by identifying the masterminds of the
rampaging Boko Haram sect and bringing them
to the negotiating table. The octogenarian gave the challenge at a
parley with the theme “The Need for National
Cooperation for Nation Building,” organised by
the Ijaw Youth Leadership Forum (Oporoza
House) at the International Conference Centre,
Abuja to celebrate President Goodluck Jonathan’s one year in office as well as 13
years of undisrupted democracy in Nigeria. Chief Edwin Clark Clark recalled that during the days of Niger
Delta militancy, himself, President Jonathan and
other prominent leaders from the region
combed the creeks of Niger Delta in several
peace meetings to persuade the then
rampaging militants to give peace a chance by showing up at the negotiating table, leading to
the successful amnesty programme initiated
during the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s
administration. He, however, lamented that despite these past
sacrifices by leaders from the South at
promoting nation-building and facilitating
national coexistence, the northern elite appear
to be playing to the gallery with the Boko
Haram insurgency which is threatening the very fabric of the nation. “This (security situation) happens in every
country. Nigeria is a big country. You don’t
expect everybody to be the same. In his
(President’s) own area, we had these kind of
issues before, the militants and young men
who went into the creeks. We went into the creeks to appeal to them. I even went with Mr.
President then to Oporoza, to Camp 5 to
persuade them and when they agreed,
President Yar’Adua granted amnesty to them. “We do hope that the 19 governors of the
north will also go their various states, identify
these boys, and bare their grievances, make
peace with them and I think the Federal
Government will recognise them and make
peace with them.”
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/e-k-clark-to-northern-elite-call-boko-haram-to-order/

These leaders have said it all. The northern leaders knows these Boko guys. There is no gainsaying in this issue. Go to the deserts and talk to your boys to embraced peace. GEJ is only the first minority to become the president of Nigeria. But he is not the first nor will be last president of Nigeria.

AND WHO'S GONNA CALL GEJ TA ORDER. . . MTCHEWWWWWWWWWW!

Yes, they have to do so now.