Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,152,101 members, 7,814,868 topics. Date: Wednesday, 01 May 2024 at 09:22 PM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Boko Haram: Panic As Nigeria’s History, Existence Is Threatened (pictured) (921 Views)
Ministers Panic As Osinbajo Mulls Cabinet Shake-up / Petrol Subsidy Returns As Nigeria Pays N28 Per Liter / Forgery Trial: Buhari Threatened Impeachment (2) (3) (4)
Boko Haram: Panic As Nigeria’s History, Existence Is Threatened (pictured) by Ridwan1821: 7:36am On Mar 24, 2016 |
Editor’s note: There have been various
reactions to President Buhari’s announcement
of Nigeria’s inclusion in the Islamic Coalition
Against Terrorism. In a bid to still the heated
arguments generated in different quarters,
Garba Shehu the Senior Special Assistant to
the president (Media and Publicity) re-
examines the motives behind the move which
many still argue defied due process and fear
might lead to the Islamization of Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari has been
severely criticized for allowing Nigeria’s
inclusion in the Islamic coalition against
terrorism.
Buhari, a misunderstood president
A good number of the reactions to President
Muhammadu Buhari’s announcement that
Nigeria has joined the Islamic Coalition Against
Terrorism, show quite clearly that many
Nigerians do not fully understand the
president’s motives for this decision.
With the rise of the Boko Haram terrorist group
of the past few years, Nigeria faces a threat
such as no other in its entire history and
existence. Desperate times require desperate,
unusual, measures.
The girls in Gwoza who were raped by militants
do not care where the help comes from as far
as they will eventually be able to move about
freely without fear of being kidnapped and used
as sex slaves. The mothers in Bama whose
sons were slaughtered before their eyes do not
worry whether Boko Haram is defeated by a
Christian or Muslim coalition.
The hundreds of thousands in IDP camps are
concerned simply about when they can safely
return to their homes and resume their normal
lives. For these ones most hard hit by the Boko
Haram terrorists, whether the help they so
desperately need comes from the United
States of America or from Saudi Arabia does
not matter.
One of the main thrusts of President Buhari’s
campaign was the war on terror. He promised
that his administration would bring an end to
Boko Haram, and set about doing just that as
soon as he was elected, travelling to different
countries and meeting with various heads of
state to discuss the way forward on the issue.
At the time, no Nigerian worried that President
Buhari was seeking help from the West.
No one worried about the ideology of those
willing and able to help our country to defeat
terror. Nigerians were simply united with their
President in a determination to bring Boko
Haram to an end so that our brothers and
sisters in the northeast can resume their
normal lives.
Garba Shehu says President Buhari’s intentions
are misunderstood.
Nigeria, a desperate nation
It is on account of these people and their
desperate situation, and on the basis of
national interest only, that President Buhari
accepted the offer, with both hands, of
assistance from G7 countries at the
commencement of his administration.
Religion was not a consideration then. It is also
not a consideration now that he has made the
decision to embrace help in fighting terror from
the Middle-East.
The safety of Nigerians and the total
annihilation of Boko Haram is of more
importance than the unfounded worries of
Nigeria’s so-called Islamisation.
Those efforts by President Buhari led to
several gains, including the technical defeat of
Boko Haram by the end of 2015 as he had
promised during the election campaigns. Once
again, our Commander-in-Chief has sought
help where he believes our country will benefit
and the religious affiliation or ideology of our
benefactors should not be the paramount
consideration. It is simply one of those cases
where the enemies of our enemy has become
our enemy. The enemy of terrorists all around
the globe is our friend.
The fears that our country’s membership in
this coalition will draw Islamic State, ISIS’s
attention to Nigeria are too late. As the
President has repeatedly maintained, it is Boko
Haram that proclaimed allegiance to ISIS,
thereby dragging us into the global terrorism
network.
By pledging allegiance to ISIS, the terrorists
already drew the international terror group’s
attention to this part of the world. ISIS proudly
and openly accepted this proclamation of
allegiance. They have their sights set on us
already.
Nigerians, a people living in unfounded fears
Terrorism is heathen and knows no religion. It
can only be defeated by the unity of entire
humanity. Criticism of the membership of this
alliance only shows our disarray and a lack of
unity against terror and will only make the
terrorists happy. The fears of so-called
Islamisation are strange and unfounded, and
meant only to feed the fear and suspicions
existing among Nigerians.
With a precedent as shown above, it will be
unkind and uncharitable of anyone to accuse
President Buhari of executing deception. In an
unusually harsh commentary, this country’s
most respected newspaper The Punch on
Sunday succeeded in exactly doing this. Read
this:
“The presidency’s doublespeak on Nigeria’s
membership of the Saudi Arabia-led anti-terror
Islamic coalition is unfortunate in the extreme.
In the beginning, an aide to the president on
media and publicity issued a statement to the
effect that the president had declined Nigeria’s
membership of the coalition and therefore did
not attend its meeting while on a diplomatic
visit to Saudi Arabia.
But barely two weeks after, President
Muhammadu Buhari himself confirmed
Nigeria’s membership of the coalition in an
interview with a foreign television station, Al-
Jazeera. Buhari, who never tabled such a
sensitive matter before the National Assembly,
said there are terrorists in Nigeria who have
claimed to be Muslims.
So, according to the him, “We are part of it
because we have got terrorists in Nigeria who
claim that they are Islamic. So, if there is an
Islamic coalition to fight terrorism, Nigeria will
be part of it because we are casualties of
Islamic terrorism.
“This explanation is simplistic, to say the least
and does not do any good to expected political
astuteness of President Buhari. In the main,
membership of any such coalition is
unacceptable for it offends the sensibilities of
Nigerians in their diverse inclinations and
should be reversed.”
Sensibilities offended? Can anyone face the
more than two million unhoused, mostly
Muslim refugees displaced by terror now being
fed, almost exclusively by Christian charities
that it is offensive them, or that it matters to
them who, between Christians and Muslims is
supplying the next meal? The one who raised a
tent over their heads?
Media and opposition conspiracy
Let me say that the presidential aide in
question is no other than myself. Although I
write statements emanating from the
Presidency, I don’t choose what headline
writers will use to caption those stories.
To that extent, it is untrue of anyone to say the
President had ab initio rejected a membership
of the coalition against terror.
What the President said, to paraphrase him,
was that “we may not be with you, but we will
support you in every possible way we can.”
This does not presuppose rejection. Even if it
was one, nothing says that a government
cannot move or adjust its position based on
new, superior facts as we individuals do in our
daily lives.
That some of the criticism against the
President is coming from opposition Senators
is even more absurd, showing a lack of
judgement and discrimination- or even worse.
It holds up a mirror to the PDP’s cluelessness
and total absence of strategy to defeat Boko
Haram terrorism. The party’s projection of
itself as better than the APC in this regard is
hobbled by their own record of indecision and
serial abdication on Chibok girls as disclosed
by Ambassador Packock and greed, corruption
and a general incapacity to drive the anti terror
war.
A set of politicians who failed to confront or
attack terrorism while in power have no right to
challenge President Buhari’s hounding of them.
To global acclaim. Trivia smells. There is a
need for a new fragrance in the air.
|
Re: Boko Haram: Panic As Nigeria’s History, Existence Is Threatened (pictured) by Ridwan1821: 7:38am On Mar 24, 2016 |
Members of the Boko Haram sect paraded by
security operatives.
|
Re: Boko Haram: Panic As Nigeria’s History, Existence Is Threatened (pictured) by Pheals(f): 7:38am On Mar 24, 2016 |
what rubbish is this ? : |
Re: Boko Haram: Panic As Nigeria’s History, Existence Is Threatened (pictured) by adegunwa4real(m): 8:42am On Mar 24, 2016 |
Errrrm...and your point is? |
Re: Boko Haram: Panic As Nigeria’s History, Existence Is Threatened (pictured) by Kessyy2k4(m): 8:53am On Mar 24, 2016 |
this OP formulating story since immortal evolution! no sense in wat u are saying! |
Re: Boko Haram: Panic As Nigeria’s History, Existence Is Threatened (pictured) by Yujin(m): 9:29am On Mar 24, 2016 |
This Islamic coalition force whatsoever must be rejected by all Christians and free minded men alike. Always project into the future what this implies for non muslims in Nigeria. If Nigeria as a member country and join other Islamic states to go into any trouble muslim countries and carry out military operations, she herself will not be exempted to host the hordes of muslim soldiers on invitation. Imagine what a Christian dominated region will face in the hands of an international coalition of Islamic armies. Let's always be proactive in relation to Islam. Islam and politics are inseparable so do the maths. Is Nigeria an Islamic country? NO! On what basis then are we involving ourselves in such a venture? Any clever person will know it doesn't portend well for the already oppressed Christians in Nigeria. Oh yes I say oppressed Christians. If not why would an assumed secular state have a religious code of law enshrined in her constitution? Are Christians minority in Nigeria? Why will Nigeria be a member of OIC? Ok. Can Nigeria also join an organization of Christian states to balance the equation? Let's ask ourselves these questions. As a matter of fact, Christians should demand that Nigeria withdraw her membership from the OIC. Failure to do these things is a recipe for total religious enslavement. I'll advise Christians to go and the study the history of Sudan from the year 1000AD. You will see the trend and how we are towing a similar path. Before our very eyes, hundreds of Churches were burnt down in the north. Any single mosque torched in the south is rebuilt by the state government. Now I ask: will the FG rebuild all the churches destroyed by boko haram and other similar religious violence against Christians? Out the billions budgeted for the reconstruction of the NE, what percentage will be expended in catering for homeless and traumatized Christian communities? Will all Christian keep quiet because the region involved is far away from theirs? Will we keep shut and watch our brethren suffer in neglect in the interest of peace as some simpletons will want us to do. For some, Southern Sudan should have swallowed all what the Sudanese government was doing to her for the interest of peace. All I'm saying is that we ought to search for the dark coloured goat while it's still day time. 1 Like |
(1) (Reply)
Jonathan’s Varsities: Buhari Returns To Vomit, Reverses Sack Of Varsity Boards / SHOCKING PHOTOS: Bad State Of A Hospital In Akwa Ibom / UPDATED: Baby Thrown Into Public Toilet Found Alive(photos)- SUMMARY
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 33 |