ACF lambasts FG, says Jonathan, wife disappointed Nigerians

Posted by admin Arewa House, First Ladies, Latest Politics, Patience Jonathan Saturday, May 17th, 2014

THE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has said the response of the Federal Government, particularly President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, to the abduction of over 200 students by the Boko Haram from Chibok, was disappointing.

ACF, in a statement signed by the Secretary General, Colonel John Ubah (retd) and made available to newsmen in Kaduna, on Thursday, entitled: “Insecurity and government ineptitude,” said its Rapid Response Committee met on Wednesday, May 14 at the forum’s headquarters, Kaduna, reviewed the current state of insecurity in the country and resolved that the president’s approached the abduction, with a sense of unseriousness, until Nigerians took to the streets in protests, demanding greater action.

Mrs Jonathan, ACF said, remained disruptive of all efforts by concerned Nigerians, as her reaction to the protests was to set up her own panel of inquiry to which she summoned federal and state government officials, including wives of governors.

“The approach of the president to the tragic abductions of the Chibok schoolgirls is not much different from his handling of the insurgency war that has engulfed the North, especially the NorthEast region since 2009.

Even the President’s ardent supporters readily agreed that his prosecution of the insurgency war has been feeble and half-hearted.

“The president hardly took action until he came under pressure to do so from people outside his government. The pressure from local and international communities is now compelling him to talk of deploying more troops to confront the Boko Haram insurgents. His belated acceptance of help from foreign powers had come only after the abduction of over 200 young girls, stirring worldwide outrage.”

“Under the circumstances, it is not difficult to understand why people ask in frustration, why the President acts the way he does. Whatever is the reason, the people of Nigeria have a right to demand from their President to execute his duties without fear or favour and in accordance with the oath of office to which he had sworn.”

“We caution that the request before the National Assembly to approve the extension of the year-long state of emergency declared in the North East states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, be considered against its impact so far, which can only be described as disastrous. Before the State of Emergency was declared in the three states, between 2009 and 2012, the total causalities of the insurgency were less than 1,500 but this figure has sky-rocketed to over 2,700, during the one year of the emergency, according to figures released by Amnesty International. During the emergency rule, Boko Haram had attacked and destroyed large swathe of areas in the North east, including 18 towns and cities not counting schools, mosques and churches.”

“It is not clear to the public why the violence has been escalating since the imposition of the state of emergency on those three states. If we counsel against the continuation of the emergency rule, we are only being guided by our ugly experiences thus far and at any rate, the Federal Government does not need to declare a state of emergency before it can discharge its responsibility of maintaining law and order. Otherwise, it may need to declare a state of emergency on the whole country at this time, given the state of lawlessness going on in the North, South, West and East regions of the country,”they said.

ACF stressed that it remained to be added that a majority of Nigerians, Muslims and Christians, accept that the Boko Haram insurgency was a fight against the whole country without regard to religion or ethnicity.

-Tribunewp_posts