By: Senator Dr Bukola Saraki:
Once again, Nigerians faced further attacks in the northern part of the
country that has left over 43 school children dead. This is another great
loss of innocent lives at the hands Boko Haram in the Federal Government
College in Buni Yadi.
This month alone, we have lost more than 300 lives to the activities of
these militant attacks. As a father, I feel every condolence message that
is sent to grieving mothers, fathers or siblings on this wanton spate of
killings personally.
As with all insurgencies, fighting Boko Haram is not just for the military
to tackle. The success for Nigeria in fighting Boko Haram and terrorism in
general is largely dependent upon two other key issues: leadership and
political cooperation.
The first, leadership, lies squarely in the hands of the President.
President Jonathan says the situation will improve but this isn’t
instilling confidence in the rest of his countrymen. He must now urgently
provide all the necessary resources allocated by our Government to help
ensure our nation’s security. The President must also work together with
the Governors of the State to ensure a unified approach to combatting this
menace.
The second, political cooperation, is the responsibility of all
politicians. We all must understand our duties as elected representatives
of our people and cooperate politically to bridge region and religion. We
must also appeal to the Governors of
Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, to all leaders from the region and to all
opposition leaders to cooperate with federal Government. We have to fully
support the military and provide all funds required by the security
agencies.
This must be a priority for both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
I believe that with the continued attacks in northern Nigeria, the support
from each and every Nigerian is vitally important for combating violent
extremism.
Nigeria will soon be approaching a Presidential election period but in my
humble opinion the fight to protect people should be prioritised over
domestic politics. Disputes between the central Government and local
Governors will not help the already desperate situation.
As the scale of the problem in northern Nigeria is only just being
grasped, we should welcome the offers of support and expertise for outside
of Nigeria. The
United States and other international partners have pledged support and
assistance, but this will only work if we are unified. For the sake of the
innocent lives our political resolve must be as strong as the military
option.
The demands of Boko Haram can never be met because Nigeria is a
multicultural, open and welcoming country. The military can fight them but
defeating them will take more than guns and bombs. Success will only
happen when every leader, Governor, Senator and the President sit together
and combine their political will to put an end to these senseless
killings.