The Federal Government has warned that the activity of the terrorist sect, Boko Haram was affecting the already impoverished north and paralysing it’s economic activities. It said if any region needed peace in the country, it was the Northern Nigeria. It said, statistics showed the region was still behind in infrastructure, literacy level, industrialization and other development indices, hence the need for peace and security.

It has therefore harped on the imperative of Northern leaders, elders and other stakeholders to rally round the government and get involved in bringing this development to an end. Addressing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which lasted only one and half hours, the Information Minister, Labaran Maku, reacting to consistent threats issued by Boko Haram to bomb parts of the North, said: “Terrorism in places like Kano is destroying the North as it hits at the heart of the development of the region.”

He noted that Kano serves as a commercial nerve-centre of not only the North but neighbouring countries like Chad, Niger Republic and northern Cameroon, whose traders also patronise the city.
Maku added: “It makes no sense to attack innocent people and destroy the North. Sokoto is the spiritual headquarters of Islam in Nigeria and the terrorist group claims they want to attack the city.

“In what way does that help Islam, or progress and development of the region if that is what they are fighting for?”
He added, “Each time the issues of security come up, I believe it only highlights the importance the security issues have assumed in the life of our country at the moment, specifically on terrorism which unfortunately had become part of our lives. Government’s approach to it has been very consistent and there is no confusion about it. The first approach that government has taken is to develop capacity to contain it, to defeat it, to fight it as it unfolds until we are able to overcome it. You have seen this in the last one-year, particularly that government has consistently invested in security and the results are paying off. If you look at what has gone on in the last few months, you have seen that gradually our intelligence services, have improved significantly in their capacity and reach and a lot of arrests are being made, almost routinely.

“Inspite of all these, it is the understanding of the Federal Government that those involved in terror attacks are our children. Yes foreigners are involved but they do so in partnership or in collaboration with some Nigerians and because they are our citizens, we have continued to call on them to lay down their arms whatever grievances they have can be better realised by bringing those grievances in an orderly way to the government at all levels.

“Some of those grievances are not even with the Federal Government, while some are, but whatever grievances that they have, the mere fact that they have grievances and they have taken to violence pre-supposes that we should listen to them, inspite of the fact that as a government, we must defend innocent citizens, some of whom have lost their lives in the course of these terror attacks, inspite of this, the President made an open declaration that as a leader, the father of the nation, he was prepared to talk to the combatants who have implored violence on innocent people and on their country. But the President said look, for us to engage in dialogue we must know who we are dialoguing with because members of this terror groups operate underground and because they operate
underground, talking to them is a more difficult process. But the President has turned in the olive branch. It is not a happy thing for Nigeria to deploy its military forces against some of its citizens, therefore it is not something we are doing out of choice.”

Nevertheless, the Minister assured that government would continue to deploy resources and develop capacity to contain insecurity and terrorism.“A lot of arrests are being made, about 14 so far. The Federal Government is investing resources in intelligence and we are beginning to see results on a consistent basis. More security personnel are also being deployed to trouble spots,” he stated. However, “there is not yet a coherent submission by those involved (Boko Haram) on what they want to do,” he lamented.

Reminded of the splinter Boko Haram group that agreed, via a recorded message on a television network, to a dialogue through some prominent northern citizens, Maku replied: “It could be true, it could be false. It takes more than having names published or broadcast by a group to establish the veracity of the claims.” Continuing he said, “if some names were mentioned by some media houses, it doesn’t mean that it could be true. We don’t just take it on the pages of newspapers because you report a story, whether it is NTA, radio or video, it takes more than that to establish the veracity of a claim. So our doors are open to every formal channel of communication for the evolution of a process that should lead to a dialogue. So the government is clear, we are ready to dialogue. Already the President had said so.

“The attack on Kano is so significant because Kano has always been the commercial centre of western Sudan for the past 500 years, ever before the evolution of Nigeria, Kano is the economy of the North and the economy of Niger Republic and it is the economy of Chad, it is the economy of Northern Cameroun. So when you distabilize peace in Kano you threaten the foundation of economic and social well-being of all northerners. So what has happened is violence and this is what we want all those involved in it to understand and all stakeholders in the North and Nigeria to understand that if a part of this country is in need of peace today, it is the Northern Nigeria.

From all the statistics we are still behind in infrastructure, in literacy level, in industraliation so we need peace and this peace will only be made possibe when all stakeholders are involved and I have seen a gradual process. You saw last week that the Vice President had a meeting with all northern governors and they agreed on certain things.
We also saw the conference of the Arewa Consultative Forum with all traditional rules and they also agreed on certain things and what we expect to evolve in the months ahead is for those decisions to be concretised in terms of structures of surveilance of community cooperation and integration in the search of peace in the north.

Maku also said FEC meeting chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan was informed that UNESCO would be siting a Category II Regional Centre for International River Basin Management under UNESCO auspices at National Water Resources Centre, Kaduna, as well as Category II International Institute for Biotechnology under UNESCO auspices at University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), and a UNESCO Regional multisectoral office in Abuja was elected into International Bureau of Education (IBE) which specialises on educational contents, methods and structures, which shows greater confidence in Nigeria.

He also said Nigeria was elected into 58 member executive Board for four years.
Maku said, Jonathan also informed FEC of the outcome of the 33rd course of Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), which discussed Nigeria’s diversity and its potentials for development and harmony.
One of the recommendations of the participants was the need for youth employment which government has decided to take very seriously and would unfold more programmes to provide jobs for the youth in the country.
According to Maku, their recommendation for reduction in cost of governance was described as apt by the council, which it noted had already begun to take measures to tackle.

Maku said the council considered the report of the seminar on Managing Nigeria’s Pluralism for Peace and National Development for Senior Executive Course 33, 2011 National Institute, Kuru
According to him, the President through a note appraised council of the outcome of the seminar on Managing Nigeria’s Pluralism for Peace and National Development for Senior Executive Course 33, 2011 at the National Institute of Strategic Studies (NIPPS) Kuru held on Thursday, November 3, 2011. Council noted the appraisal, which include: •Reduction in cost of governance •Address issues of youth unemployment •Platform for proactive interraction of ethno-religious crises and •Strenghten institutional framework on security.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2012/feb/09/national-09-02-2012-016.html

Errrmmmm

didnt the North create and feed the monster in the first place?

Now the monster is biting the fingers that fed it,they are shouting foul!

The North started it,they should end it!

shekena!

Boko Haram Killing North’s Economy -fg

This is a lie. The federal government is very very ignorant.

Boko Haram is doing a great job for the North.

Once Boko is "haramed" with total sharia implemented.

eg, women must cover including their faces; every child must learn Arabic and cram the Koran, etc, come see economic booooooom.

Do you know how much that will be realised through the sell of amputation gadgets? Rocks will be escavated in high volume for stoning; do you know how much that can be made from those rocks?