Jonathan should resign – Northern CAN [PUNCH]
President Goodluck Jonathan
Christians in the North have asked President Goodluck Jonathan to resign over his comment on Boko Haram.
Jonathan was quoted to have said he could not crush the Islamic sect because “they are our siblings and you cannot set the army to wipe out your family”.
In a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Sunday Oibe, the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria said the comments credited to Jonathan was an indication that the country was in a helpless situation as the President “does not seem to understand the aim of the sect to destabilise his administration.”
According to the CAN, it is shocking for the President to say he will not deploy the military to deal with terrorist who have been killing other Nigerians and threatening the corporate existence of the country.
The body argued that it was clear that the President has been shielding the group at the expense of the lives of innocent people, urging Nigerians to have a rethink on the type of president that is governing the country at the moment.
The statement read in part, “What he is telling us now is that there is nothing he can do about it, but we know that the Federal Government has the capacity to stop the madness being unleashed on Nigerians. However, it is now obvious that the President will rather shield criminals.
“Every Nigerian can recall how former President Olusegun Obasanjo reacted when the Niger Delta militants attacked soldiers in Udi. Even though the militants were asking for their legitimate right, Obasanjo dealt with them squarely for resorting to criminality in agitating for their right. No country in the world will allow its soldiers, trained to defend the territorial integrity of the nation to be killed by a gang of criminals and get away with it.
“Nigerians can also recall that in Zaki – Biam, Benue state, the same Obasanjo as President sent troops to deal ruthlessly with the people there for allegedly killing soldiers.
“Now on a daily basis soldiers, police and other security personnel are being killed by Boko Haram members and the President has the effrontery to tell us that these murderers are members of the family and he cannot mobilise the army to deal with them.
“Jonathan has failed us Christians, he has failed Nigerians and he should resign because by this statement, it is very clear that he is not capable of handling the danger pose by the Boko Haram insurgency.”
The president should tell us the offense of hundreds of Christians who have been killed by the Islamic sect, who have clearly come out to say that they will continue to attack government functionaries, security agencies and Christians”.
“So the president is not bothered about the killing of Christians and other Nigerians! Is it because Christians are not members of this family he is talking about? So the security agents who are being killed by the Boko Haram are not members of this family?
Related: NewsRescue- Flashback: How President Yaradua dealt with Boko Haram in 2009 – 700 Killed, leader, Mohammed Yusuf killed
CAN also criticized the government for insisting that Boko Haram should not be branded as a terrorist group, saying “They claimed if Boko Haram is designated as a terrorist group, the country may be placed under sanction which will hurt Nigerians in addition to the fact that it may scare away investors as well as lead to visa restriction and subjection of Nigerians to maltreatment at airports all over the world.
“But are we not hurt already? Are Nigerians not suffering? How many investors are coming to invest? There are so many business premises in Yobe, Maiduguri, Kano, Kaduna and Jos that have closed shop. Nobody is coming up north to set up any business. People are selling off their houses and relocating from the north. Our churches are being closed down on a daily basis. So what investor is the government talking about?”
Also, the Anglican Communion, Kaduna Diocese said illiteracy, unemployment and poverty in the North were not responsible for various crises in the region.
In a 10-point – communiqué issued at the end of the 1st session of the 19th Synod of the Diocese and signed by the Diocesan Bishop, Rt. Rev Josiah Idowu –Fearon, insisted that illiteracy, poverty and unemployment were never the cause of the sundry crises in the region as many were wont to believe.
http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathan-should-resign-northern-can/ and ngex
FFK’s reaction in 2012, lifted from his facebook
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