President Goodluck Jonathan has
said that no group or person can
threaten him before he will
perform his official duties.
Jonathan, who was responding to
an October deadline given to him
on Monday by members of the
Northern Elders Forum to ensure
the rescue of the abducted
schoolgirls, said the ultimatum was
in bad taste.
Two NEF members, Solomon
Dalung and Dr. Hakeem Baba-
Ahmed, had said that the rescue of
the girls who have been in the
captivity of Boko Haram insurgents
for three months now, was a
condition for Jonathan to enjoy
Northern support for his
presidential ambition in 2015.
The northern elders had said,
“We are convinced that most of
these conflicts are being
engineered to weaken the North
politically and economically by
interests which intend to exploit
such weaknesses for electoral
benefits.
“In the light of our firm conviction
that the insurgency and related
security challenges pose threats to
the 2015 elections and the survival
of our nation, we strongly advise
President Jonathan to bring to an
end, the insurgency in all its
manifestations and produce the
Chibok girls before the end of
October 2014.”
But Jonathan, who spoke through
his Senior Special Assistant on
Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe,
said he was already working on how
to rescue the abducted girls.
Okupe added that “President
Jonathan does not require any
threat or ultimatum from any
group of persons to be alive to his
responsibilities to the Nigerian
people.”
He pointed out that insurgency,
especially when it is based on
Islamic extremism, was a global
phenomenon that required tact,
military capability, serious de-
radicalisation techniques and
community-based counter
insurgency programmes.
In these areas, Okupe said that the
Federal Government was making
progress.
He said that the military and other
security agencies were improving
on their operational abilities by
acquiring more advanced weapons
and technologies.
Apart from this, Okupe said the
government had also drafted more
military personnel to the North-
East to strengthen the fighting
power of the armed forces.
He added that the government was
equally taking advantage of the
offers from foreign military and
intelligence allies to assist in
identifying the locations of the
kidnapped girls.
The Presidential aide said, “We are
working with our neighbours to
secure the borders and limit the
movements of Boko Haram fighters.
We are also building on the
agreements reached at the recent
summits in Paris and London.
“We are deploying more resources
to maximise operational efficiency,
acquire more advanced and
relevant weaponry and boost the
general morale of our combatants.
This is why the government
recently requested for an
additional funding of $1bn.
“And the last piece in the puzzle
is targeting the domestic and
international funding, and
stopping the money flowing into
the coffers of terrorists.”
On the allegation that the
government was carrying out plans
aimed at stunting the growth of
a section of the country for
political gain, Okupe said it was
“preposterous, contrary to common
sense, divisive and essentially a
deliberate attempt to disseminate
‘hate mentality’ and cause
mischief.”
He argued that since the
President was voted for by an
overwhelming majority of Nigerians,
he would never promote any policy
that is either divisive or inimical to
the wellbeing of any section of the
country.