BEING TEXT OF AN ADDRESS BY THE SPEAKER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, RT.
\nHON. AMINU WAZIRI TAMBUWAL, CFR, ON TUESDAY, 11TH MARCH, 2014, ON THE \u201cDAY
\nOF MOURNING\u201d SPECIAL SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO REMEMBER
\nSTUDENTS AND OTHER NIGERIANS KILLED THROUGH TERRORISM<\/p>\n
My dear Honourable colleagues,<\/p>\n
1. I welcome you back to the Plenary Session of the House of
\nRepresentatives. In the last two weeks, various Committees of the House
\nhad been working assiduously on the 2014 Appropriation Bill. The House is
\ngrateful to the Committees for their hard work and dedication.<\/p>\n
2. Our reunion at times like this has always been one of joy for
\naccomplishment of a civic responsibility. However on this day it is with
\nthe greatest sense of anguish that I welcome you back.<\/p>\n
3. On February 25, 2014, the very day the House adjourned Plenary, Nigeria
\nsuffered a horrendous terrorist attack that struck a fatal blow at the
\nheart and soul of the Nigerian nation and desecrated values that decent
\npeoples of all nations hold dear. On that night, about 59 students of
\nFederal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State were killed in the most
\nheinous manner. Some of our future national leaders were mowed down in
\ngruesome circumstances in their sleep. Some were shot dead while many were
\nburnt beyond recognition. That day was a day that will live in infamy in
\nthe history of this nation.<\/p>\n
4. When innocent, harmless and defenseless women and children become the
\ntargets of these heartless murderous bandits; when the lives of sleeping
\nchildren are so callously snuffed out, it becomes clear that these agents
\nof terror have murdered sleep and they henceforth deserve none.<\/p>\n
5. Whatever grievances the terrorists harbor against the government of
\nNigeria, Nigeria\u2019s innocent children have nothing to do with it. Nigeria\u2019s
\nchildren bear no responsibility for either policy making or policy
\nimplementation in Nigeria. It is therefore an act of cowardice worthy of
\nringing condemnation to target the children, to strike at those who are
\nnot only innocent but are also unable to strike back or defend themselves.
\nThere can be no reason, no justification and no acceptable excuse for this
\nact of mindless brutality. Whatever message the terrorists set out to send
\nto the Nigerian government has been drowned out by the cries for justice
\nby the blood of these innocent martyrs.<\/p>\n
6. It is to remember these innocent children and other victims of violence
\nin this country, that the House has declared today \u201cA day of mourning\u201d to
\nexpress our collective outrage on these killings that have gone on for far
\ntoo long.<\/p>\n
7. My dear Colleagues, please travel with me on an imaginary journey to
\nFederal Government College, Buni Yadi.<\/p>\n
8. Picture the scene as the terrorists creep into the hostels and the
\nchildren begin to wake up one after the other, with their eyes heavy with
\nsleep, each of them convinced that this is some nightmare.<\/p>\n
9. Picture the chaos in the rooms and the terror on the faces of the
\nchildren as they watch the murderers attack the first set of students, the
\nones nearest to the entrance, and the students begin to realize that what
\nis happening is not a nightmare but a reality far harsher that any
\nnightmare the mind of a child can construct.<\/p>\n
10. Hear the panic in the voices of the children as they begin to scream
\nfor help, from God, their parents or security. But no help will come
\ntonight.<\/p>\n
11. Feel the unbearable horror of this night, and hear the fading cries of
\nthese children as they finally succumb to the murderous onslaught.<\/p>\n
12. Finally, my dear colleagues imagine that it is your own child in the
\nhostels at Buni Yadi on this hellish night.<\/p>\n
13. I can still hear the voice of the father of Aliyu Yola, one of the
\nvictims of the school massacre crying, \u201cAliyu was scared to go back to
\nschool after the last holiday. I forced him to resume not knowing he will
\nnever come back to me again\u201d.<\/p>\n
14. As Jodi Picoult writes in her book \u201cMy Sister\u2019s Keeper\u201d, \u201cIn the
\nEnglish language there are orphans and widows, but there is no word for
\nthe parent who loses a child\u201d.<\/p>\n
15. Dear colleagues, please let us rise for a minute silence in honor of
\nthe murdered children of Buni Yadi and of the many valuable Nigerians that
\nhave been lost in this needless orgy of violence.<\/p>\n
.MAY THEIR INNOCENT SOULS REST IN PERFECT PEACE<\/p>\n
16. Today is not a day to apportion blames. It is a day for the expression
\nof our sense of personal and national loss. But it is also a day for us to
\nlook for concrete solutions.<\/p>\n
17. In my brief statement immediately after that attack, I warned that
\nNigeria is running out of excuses for our failure to live up to our
\nresponsibility to protect our citizens. Today I wish to amend that comment
\nand declare that we HAVE run out of excuses. We no longer have any excuse
\nfor our inability to protect our innocent defenseless children from
\ngratuitous violence.<\/p>\n
18. In recent times, it seems the nation wakes up every morning to the sad
\nnews of one gory tale of bloodletting and killing of innocent Nigerians or
\nanother: in the North East States of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe; in the North
\nCentral States of Benue and Plateau; and in other parts of Nigeria.<\/p>\n
19. We wake up to the disturbing news of daring and dastardly attacks on
\nour military establishments resulting in the dissipation of our military
\ninfrastructure and the destruction of the lives of the heroic Nigerians
\nwho have committed their lives to the defense of our territorial
\nintegrity.<\/p>\n
20. In Maiduguri for instance, expensive military aircraft and equipment
\nand whole military barracks have been lost in addition to the loss of men
\nand women of our Military and other law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n
21. We wake up to the chilling news of the total annihilation of innocent,
\nlaw abiding families and entire communities in the most callous,
\nreprehensible and bizarre fashion. This cannot continue. We must rise up
\ncollectively and decisively to stop these orgy of deaths, destruction and
\nwaste.<\/p>\n
22. Section 14 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
\nprovides that the security and welfare of our people is the primary
\npurpose of government. In making this provision, the Constitution places a
\nduty on all of us here and everyone else entrusted with the mandate of
\ngovernance and representation to place a high premium on the security of
\nlives and property of Nigerians.<\/p>\n
23. By this parameter, the Nigerian government must rise to the occasion.
\nAnd by government I do not mean only the Executive. We in the Legislature
\nare also part of government. And we cannot therefore merely join in the
\nchorus of lamentations. Our duty is to act swiftly and decisively in the
\nprotection of the citizenry.<\/p>\n
24. In the past, this House had initiated and supported all measures
\nneeded to combat terrorism in the Country. Since active terrorism started
\nmanifesting itself, the House has taken the following steps:<\/p>\n
i. We have passed over twenty resolutions on the issue of national security
\nii. We amended the Anti-terrorism Act, 2011 to strengthen the Security
\nAgencies
\niii. We have appropriated huge sums of money for the Security Agencies
\niv. Only recently, January 30, 2014 the House in making its
\nrecommendations for Constitutional Amendment voted to include the National
\nSecurity Agencies and the Nigerian Police on the First Line charge for
\npurpose of ensuring their financial independence and timely release of
\nfunds when appropriated.<\/p>\n
25. While we await the completion of the Constitutional amendment process
\nin which we have thus sought to remove the funding bottleneck that impedes
\nthe operational effectiveness of our security institutions, we must in the
\ninterim adopt definite measures to ensure that the security agencies have
\nall the support they need to put an end to this long-running orgy of
\nbloodbath so that Nigerians can sleep with both eyes closed. That is the
\nmost basic service citizens expect from their government.<\/p>\n
26. My dear Colleagues, let us not forget that we have in place a State of
\nEmergency in the three affected North East states. Yet the killings have
\ncontinued unabated in spite of the gallant efforts of our security forces.
\nIt is therefore clear that we need to come up with other ideas for a
\nsolution. There are certain questions that this House must now ask.<\/p>\n
27. How do we ensure that the welfare of our military is effectively
\nadministered and that they have the appropriate equipment to execute their
\nhazardous assignment? The sad events of recent weeks have once again made
\nNigerians ask whether moneys appropriated for the welfare of our security
\nforces are properly administered.
\n28. How do we strengthen the intelligence gathering capabilities of our
\nintelligence agencies?<\/p>\n
29. How do we encourage the Nigerian Police Force to institutionalize
\nCommunity Policing as a framework for engaging local Communities in a
\npartnership for checking crime and terrorism?<\/p>\n
30. What about integrating local security structures into the regular
\nsecurity windows of the Nigerian Police Force with the Federal, State and
\nLocal governments supporting them with necessary resources? Is it perhaps
\ntime for us to revisit the idea of State Police?<\/p>\n
31. How do we develop an institutional framework for securing the land
\nthrough a neighborhood audit where a tab is kept on every member and every
\nhousing structure whether completed or uncompleted?<\/p>\n
32. A fully engaged and strongly organized local population would not
\nallow terrorism in their community or across their territory. Nigerian
\ncitizens must therefore be mobilized to take back their communities.
\nIntelligence gathering will improve tremendously if security structures at
\nthe local levels are tapped effectively by the Police.
\n33. How do we institute a form of \u2018Marshall Plan\u2019 to effectively address
\nthe economic circumstances of the affected regions? Such a measure will
\nserve to check youth restiveness, unemployment and mass poverty. The
\nprivate sector also has a huge role to play in this.
\n34. What about our traditional rulers, religious leaders and other
\nstakeholders? Does the government now need to intensify engagement with
\nthese elders to take advantage of their unique position, wisdom and
\ninfluence?
\n35. These few suggestions are only intended to serve as stimuli for
\nfurther discourse. I challenge my colleagues and other Nigerians to come
\nforward with other ideas and solutions on how we can as a nation address
\nthis situation.<\/p>\n
36. The involvement of the citizenry in the fight against terrorism is a
\nvital issue. For the campaign against terrorism to succeed the people must
\nget involved. A crisis of this magnitude is beyond the capacity of any
\ngovernment to resolve on its own without the support of the people.
\nWhenever the stability and survival of a nation is threatened, the most
\npotent weapon in repelling the threat is the active engagement of the
\npeople of that nation.<\/p>\n
37. I humbly appeal to the Nigerian people to join in this struggle for
\nthe soul of our nation and embrace as a sacred duty the mission of
\nrestoring peace and stability in Nigeria. We must draw from the heartbreak
\nof Buni Yadi, and other areas affected by mindless violence, an
\ninspiration to rededicate ourselves to the cause of nation building.<\/p>\n
38. One hundred years after Nigeria was amalgamated into one country,
\nthere are Nigerians who would still prefer to emphasize and celebrate our
\ndifferentness and blame the British for amalgamating us, rather than
\nembrace the reality of our oneness. At this stage of our journey of
\nnationhood, all Nigerians should be highlighting the ties that bind us. We
\nshould be promoting the elements of our common heritage and emphasizing
\nthe imperatives of our common destiny.<\/p>\n
39. In the light of a heart-wrenching tragedy like this, our people must
\nnow see that those political, sectional and sectarian differences that
\nhave made it impossible for us to present a united front against our
\nchallenges are petty and self-absorbed. If a tragedy of the Buni Yadi
\nmagnitude does not bring us together as one nation, if the loss of our
\ninnocent children whose only offence was that they went to school to gain
\neducation and wisdom in preparation for a future of service to Nigeria and
\nhumanity does not unite us in grief, then we need to ask ourselves if we
\ntruly meet the basic spiritual requirements of nationhood.<\/p>\n
40. We cannot claim to be one nation, if we cannot find unity in grief;
\njust as we cannot claim to be a great nation when we are incapable of
\npreventing horrendous attacks on our children peacefully asleep in their
\nbeds.<\/p>\n
41. As a people we are known to be our brothers\u2019 keeper. Terror has never
\nbeen in our character and with God on our side we shall surely defeat this
\nminority tribe of violence. Let us therefore arise with a single-minded
\nresolve that the Buni Yadi massacre is one massacre too many and we shall
\ntolerate no more.<\/p>\n
42. My dear colleagues
\n– Our nation is in mourning, and it is in urgent need of consolation
\n– Our nation is in pain, and in urgent need of healing
\n– Our nation is puzzled, and in urgent need of answers
\n– Our nation is disillusioned, and in urgent need of reassurance.<\/p>\n
43. As the elected representatives of the people, it is our duty to offer
\nthat consolation, administer that healing, provide those answers and
\nfurnish that reassurance that our people need to make them continue to
\nbelieve in the Nigerian nation.<\/p>\n
44. Thank you and God bless Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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