Jonathan, UK mourn •FG clueless — ACN (Can you do better?)

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, Latest Politics Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday consoled the families of the victims of the multiple bomb blasts in Kano on Friday.

Jonathan also commiserated with the management of a Lagos-based private television station, Channels, over the killing of its Kano State correspondent, Mr. Enenche Akogwu, in the crisis.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Jonathan was saddened by the incident, which led to the loss of many innocent lives.

He said, “It is with a heart full of sadness and pain that I convey my condolences on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria to the families, friends, associates and relatives of all those who lost their lives in the acts of violence in Kano on Friday.

“These are honest and patriotic Nigerians who were brutally and recklessly cut down by agents of terror. As a responsible government, we will not fold our hands and watch enemies of democracy, for that is what these mindless killers are, perpetrate unprecedented evil in our land.

“I want to re-assure Nigerians, the international community and members of the fourth estate of the realm, who lost one of their colleagues, a reporter with Channels Television that all those involved in that dastardly act would be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

Also, the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary, William Hague, on Saturday also said he was shocked and appalled by the incident.

He said, “.The full horror of last night’s events is still unfolding,but we know that a great many people have died and many more have been injured. The nature of these attacks has sickened people around the world and I send my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of those killed and to those injured.

“There is no place in today’s world for such barbaric acts and I condemn in the strongest possible terms those who carried them out. These events underline the importance of the international community standing together in the face of terrorism in all its forms.”

Similarly, the Senate President, David Mark, condemned the attacks and called on members of the Boko Haram to sheathe their swords in the interest of the nation and Nigerians.

In a statement made available to our correspondent on Saturday, Mark said the government was awake to issues of insecurity, urging security agencies to fish out those behind the crime.

While condoling with the management of Channels and the family of the slain reporter, Mark urged media practitioners and security operatives not to allow the current security challenges in the country to deter them from performing their duties.

In his reaction, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, said Boko Haram must respect the sanctity of human lives.

A statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Imam Imam, in Abuja on Saturday quoted him as saying that the bomb attacks “call for greater concern and sober reflection.” He described it as a “needless shedding of blood.”

However, the Action Congress of Nigeria said the Kano attacks had again highlighted Federal Government cluelessness on how to tackle the Boko Haram crisis.

The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said it was an irony that the government, which had deployed armed troops against unarmed citizens in Lagos, could not checkmate those who posed a real threat to national security.

It said, “When the government decided to engage in the use of brute force, as it is wont to do when confronted with situations that demand imaginative solutions, we warned that it would be counter-productive.

“When the government decided to impose a state of emergency in some states, we warned that, imperative as that might seem at the time, it would only push the sect to extend its attacks to areas not covered by the measure, hence the need to seek a lasting solution.

“Unfortunately, those warnings have proved to be prescient, and the government has continued to shy away from seeking a creative solution, which we believe is to start off by calling a national security summit to be attended by stakeholders, who will help proffer solutions to the crisis.

“We will also like to reiterate our call for some form of engagement, instead of relying solely on the use of brute force, which will not work.”

-Punchwp_posts