Boko Haram: No cause for alarm -CDS (We have heard that before)

Posted by admin Boko Haram, Latest Politics Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Oluseyi Petirin, has said that there was no cause for alarm over the insurgency of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram. Since 2009, members of Islamist sect, which translates to ‘western education is sin’, has held the northeastern state of Borno at the jugular, paralyzing economic and social activities.

Apart from Borno, the sect has also launched attacks on police formations, religious centres and government buildings in Kaduna and Bauchi States.

Of recent, it claimed responsibility for the June 16 and August 26, 2011 bombings of Police headquarters and United Nations (UN) building in Abuja.
But Petirin, who doubles as the Chairman of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff, blamed the media for exaggerating the sect’s activities, saying there is no country in the world where there is no security challenge.

He spoke in Abuja during a meeting of the ECOWAS’ committee, where he also debunked the recent killing of three persons by the sect in Borno State.
The CDS maintained that the Boko Haram menace is not a resurgence or insurrection and not peculiar to Nigeria..

He said: “It is not true. Where is the insurgency? When was that a problem? When was the last time you had a problem with Boko Haram?
“First of all, you have to realize one thing: If what you are saying is that you want a totally crime-free society, you will have to go to heaven for that one and not in this world.

“So, if crimes are committed in a town in Nigeria, the police will handle it. That does not mean there is an insurgency or insurrection.”
When confronted with the fact that the sect’s activities have been consistent, which gives a sign that the security agencies are not up to the task of curbing the menace, Petirin said; “As I told you, there is no society that is totally crime-free and we all know that incidence of terrorism is not limited to Nigeria.”
He further said; “that does not mean that the security agencies, the law enforcement agencies will not tackle it. They are tackling it. In fact, they are getting better at it everyday. It is the way you guys are reporting it as if heaven is falling down when indeed, there is nothing of such.

“This is not the only country where an international agency has been attacked. It happened in Kenya, it happened in the United States and it happened in several places. But they rallied round and defeated it with the help of everybody, including journalists.
“But the problem we have in Nigeria, is that you guys, particularly you members of the press, the way you even report, is unbecoming. You are not helping the situation at all because even when there is absolutely no need to exaggerate, you exaggerate and make things look worse than it actually is.”

Continuing, Petirin said: “Insecurity in Nigeria; which state has insecurity? Out of the 36 states, how many states are insecure? And have you been to Jos this morning or even this week, to see the volume of activities either in Jos or in Maiduguri?
“So, this is what I am saying. Be positive in your reportage. I am not saying you should lie. If there is a problem, say it; but you should report it in a patriotic way. You guys are not doing that. The way you do it now is, you are just reporting so that you will sell papers. That is the way I think and it is not good.”

Earlier in his opening remarks, Petirin said that he was glad that the meeting came on the heels of a recent meeting of the CDS and Chiefs Security Forces of Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal, which deliberated on the security situation in Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia.
He stated that ECOWAS had in recent times, witnessed individual and collective challenges to security and defence in the region.

Petirin also said that the instability in Libya and its anticipated spill over ‘to our sub-region, as well as the recent upsurge in acts of terror being experienced in several countries, including Nigeria, are issues that require urgent attention’.
“Similarly, piracy or sea robbery thrives in the maritime domains of some member states within the Gulf of Guinea, while small arms proliferation, political instability and internal security challenges and its socio-economic and political implications, continue to stare us in the face.

“It is in the light of the above that this meeting is quite auspicious. I believe we are making progress in the Security Sector Reforms ongoing in Guinea Bissau, as well as the issue of the ECOWAS Stand-by Force.
“Similarly, the spate of terrorist attacks within the region and its implications, has necessitated sensitization on counter terrorism strategies,” Petirin said.
In his remarks, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Major General Mahamane Toure, said the meeting was taking place at a period when ‘we have come to consider that peace and democratic governance are gradually becoming the guiding principles in the ECOWAS region’.

-Sunwp_posts