The All Progressives Congress, APC, has expressed shock at
Wednesday’s bomb attacks in Kaduna that targeted one of its leaders,
Muhammadu Buhari, and a prominent cleric, Dahiru Bauchi, and left hordes
of innocent civilians dead or injured.
It also sent its condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
In a statement on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai
Mohammed, the party said the attempted assassination of Mr. Buhari had
changed the narrative about the insurgent group and “knocked the bottom
off the sinister, irresponsible and partisan colouration given to the
insurgency by the Federal Government.”
APC said while no one had yet claimed responsibility for the attack,
the mere fact that it occurred at all was a “lose-lose” situation for
the Goodluck Jonathan Administration.
“Whether it is Boko Haram or not, one thing remains: This government
has failed woefully in its core constitutional duty of protecting the
security and welfare of the citizenry. And we mean all the citizens, not
just the leaders!” the party said.
The party implied that the recent attack on Mr. Buhari, if a
handiwork of Boko Haram, has cast doubts on government’s claims that the
APC and Mr. Buhari were core sympathisers of the group.
“Whatever happens now, the satanic and repulsive theory of the
PDP-led FG that the opposition APC is using Boko Haram to truncate the
administration of Jonathan is up in flames. Therefore, it is time for
them to change the narrative, see Boko Haram for what it is – an enemy
of Nigeria – and rally the citizenry, irrespective of their political,
ethnic or religious affiliation, behind the government’s efforts to
tackle it decisively,” the APC said.
APC said as a first step, Mr. Jonathan must immediately stop the
wasteful contract he signed with the US-based firm Levick to help
demonise the APC as the sponsor of Boko Haram, and to demonise any
Nigerian perceived to be an enemy of the government.
It noted that it was this kind of “demonization”, using pseudo and
out-of-job analysts that helped to set the stage for the failed
assassination attempt against Mr. Buhari.
”Then the President must address Nigerians to tell them that Boko
Haram is not just an enemy of his government, it is an enemy of the
opposition, of Christians, of Muslims and of the different ethnic
groups,” the party said. “Instead of dividing Nigerians along religious,
ethnic and political lines, President Jonathan should borrow a leaf
from his predecessors. Obasanjo never said the Niger Delta militancy was
aimed at his government or his people, he tackled it headlong.
Yar’Adua it was who finally ended the militancy, without saying it was aimed at his government or his people.”
APC reiterated its earlier stand that only a non-partisan approach
will galvanise Nigerians against Boko Haram, which is rooted more in the
years of bad governance that have resulted in mass unemployment,
massive corruption, economic imbalances and made the youth to become
hopeless, thus creating an army of willing tools for criminal activities
It also repeated its offer to work with the Federal Government to
battle Boko Haram and its call for a national stakeholders’ conference
to help fashion out a comprehensive counter-insurgent blueprint for the
nation.
APC said rather than just throwing money at what had now become a
bottomless pit, rather than creating the avenue for some unpatriotic
citizens to feed fat on the insurgency, the Federal Government should
engage in new thinking.
Also reacting to the twin bombing Kaduna incident, a former Vice
President, Atiku Abubakar, urged the Federal Government to urgently take
steps to halt the escalating security challenges in the country, saying
it had reached an embarrassing proportion.
He said a situation where a former Head of State and key opposition
figure could be targeted by terrorists or hatchet killers was a
dangerous development, which should not be taken lightly by any
responsible Nigerian.
According to Mr. Abubakar, the targeting of Mr. Buhari, whatever
might be the motive or whoever could be behind it, had added a dangerous
dimension to a bad security situation in the country.
He explained that the attack on Mr. Buhari had only deepened the
anxiety of ordinary citizens that nobody was safe if a former Head of
State could be so targeted and almost killed but for providence.
The former vice president noted that while it was the duty of all
leaders regardless of political affiliation to support the
anti-terrorism efforts in the country, it would not be wise to keep
quiet when events are taking a disturbing dimension.
He observed that while public support was essential to fighting
insecurity, the government also had the task of reassuring the citizens
that its measures and strategies are working to justify the huge
expenditures on security.
Mr. Abubakar maintained that sustainable public support for these
counter-terrorism efforts depends largely on the results being achieved.
He also maintained that it is beyond his comprehension why terrorists
and assassins operate with maximum ease, undetected and unmolested by
anybody.
He explained that his opinion had nothing to do with politics, but
about the larger interest of Nigeria of which he is a player and that he
was embarrassed by the frequency and brutality with which terrorists
and other criminals commit atrocities without detection.
He urged security agencies to rise to the deteriorating security
challenges by deploying needed software and hardware to intelligence
gathering.
He restated that the security, welfare and the happiness of the
citizens were basic functions of every government and therefore no
leader should be happy with a situation where the citizens become
captives of fear feel abandoned to their fates.
He expressed his condolences to the families of the bereaved while
urging that no effort should be spared in attending to the injured in
need of medical attention.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, described the twin blasts “as cruel, barbaric and heinous crime.”
According to him, the targeting of prominent persons as seen from the blasts was both regrettable and condemnable.
In a statement by his media aide, Imam Imam, Mr. Tambuwal said
killing of innocent persons could not be justified under any guise and
that whoever was behind the Kaduna incidents should be pursued and
brought to justice.
While thanking God that the apparent targets of the attacks, Messrs.
Buhari and Dahiru Bauchi escaped unhurt, the Speaker expressed sadness
over the loss of innocent lives.
“Our sympathy and condolences are with the families of the victims of
the blast. Their loved ones did not die in vain,” he added.
The Speaker prayed for the quick recovery of those injured or traumatised by the dastardly acts.
A former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva said the apparent
assassination attempt on Mr. Buhari was “a spineless assault on the
voice of conscience in Nigeria by bigoted terrorists and their political
sponsors seeking evil attention.”
Mr. Sylva, in a statement by his media aide, Doifie Buokoribo, said
Nigerians, by their traditions and religions, were a naturally peaceful
people and that those who promote or indulge in this campaign of death
and destruction would have no place to hide from the wrath and curse of
God and men.
“We are embarrassed by President Jonathan’s poor handling of the
security problem and a situation where the government has allowed its
sense of partisanship to overshadow the needed political, economic, and
social will to tackle the insurgency,” Mr. Sylva, who is also a
chieftain of the APC, said.
The former governor noted that in civilised societies, opposition
leaders as of right enjoy more protection from the government than even
those in government, stressing, “Murder is the worst form of censorship
and this government has become increasingly notorious for attempting to
permanently silence voices of opposition.”
He sympathised with the families of all those that died and those
that were injured in the twin bomb blasts targeted at Mr. Buhari and the
prominent Islamic cleric, Dahiru Bauchi, two men who have been frankly
critical of the Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism in all forms.
Mr. Sylva called on the Federal Government to take “more sincere
steps to protect the lives and property of citizens, which is its
primary responsibility.”
In its reaction, the United Progressive Party, UPP, condemned the
bomb blasts, describing them as “outrageous, barbaric and
reprehensible.”
“We condemn terrorism in all its ramifications and will resist bomb
blasts targeted at political leaders in the country. It is man’s
inhumanity to man and a giant step backward in the quest at building a
strong democratic nation,” it said in a statement by its spokesperson,
Ogbuehi Dike.
The party said it was unfortunate that the terrorists carried out
these dastardly acts on the holy month of Ramadan when true Moslems had
been fasting and praying for the nation.
A civil society group, The Voters Assembly, VOTAS condemned “the
unfortunate and unjustifiable assassination attempt on the life of
Retired General Mohamed Buhari who recently warned the nation on the bad
shape of politics and security in the land.”
The group said in a statement by its president, Mashood Erubami, that
it joined Mr. Jonathan in thanking God for spearing Nigerians of the
grieve, anguish and frustration that they would have gone through had
the clearly targeted evil been successful.
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