Former VP Atiku Abubakar who is from Adamawa state, one of the worst hit by Boko Haram, held a press conference today November 3rd at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja where he addressed the attacks of the sect members on Mubi and other towns in northern Nigeria. Atiku described the current situation as grave and appealed to the international community to come to Nigeria's aid.
Gentlemen of the Press:
It is with deep regret that I came to learn that Mubi, which is one the largest towns in Adamawa State of northeast Nigeria, has been taken by the terrorist group commonly known as Boko Haram. As you may know, in recent weeks and months, Mubi has been a town to which displaced persons from further north have fled for safety after their communities fell to Boko Haram. As I speak, the inhabitants of Mubi, together with those who went there for safety, find themselves at the mercy of this terrorist group.
I am Nigerian. I believe in the integrity of Nigeria as a whole, and every part of this country matters to me. But I was born and bred in the northeast. So, please, excuse me if I should say a few words about the part of the country where I am from, about what the people from the northeast of Nigeria have had to suffer for far, far too long.
Things should never have got to this stage. Thousands of Nigerians have had to flee their homes. Their houses and farms have been destroyed. They do not know where to go or how to restart their lives. That is the degree to which we have come in this country. I say this with reluctance and with shame. The situation in which we find ourselves today is grave. Much of Borno, and the north of Adamawa and Yobe states is already at the mercy of the terrorists. It started a few months ago with Bama, which is nearly 400 kilometres from Yola, capital of Adamawa State.
The next major town to be taken by terrorists was Gwoza, where a terrorist caliphate flag has long been hoisted. Smaller towns near Gwoza such as Pulka and Limankra are equally not free. Next was Madagali. The town is still being occupied. Then fell Gulak. Next was Michika, then Bazza. Next was the twin town of Uba which is half Adamawa and half Bornu. Its neighboring town of Lassa was also overrun. Uba was the latest town captured before the terrorists trampled on Mubi. People from these troubled areas are now pouring into Yola for safety.
As somebody who hails from Adamawa State, you can appreciate why I feel such emotion at the fate of my people. For whatever reason, our defence forces are unable to cope and unable to defend. My sympathies go out to the soldiers who find themselves in a situation not of their making. This is a crisis of leadership.
We were told that the budget for security was going to be enlarged so that the security agencies and military would be in a better position to tackle the insurgency. How is it possible that a great nation like Nigeria should find itself in a situation where a handful of terrorists is able to invade a town as large as Mubi with a population of about 300,000? How were the insurgents able to so easily take a town of this size, and the people find themselves defenseless and undefended? How is it that the people have been made to suffer as they have?
I have previously spoken about the deteriorating security situation in this country on a number of occasions. On those occasions I deliberately restrained myself from speaking in a manner that might be construed as distracting the government and the security forces as they grappled with the dire security situation. But the scale of injustice the people of Nigeria are suffering has reached a stage where I am obliged to amplify my concerns.
Many of our citizens, unable to come to terms with why a so-called “Africa’s best army” has been unable to confront this horrendous situation, are increasingly assuming that this whole thing is about electoral politics. They suspect that the seeming inability of the government to end the crisis is a ploy to weaken some parts of the country ahead of the 2015 elections. Can we, in all honesty, blame them for having those suspicions?
I call upon the international community to help us. I am making a special appeal to countries with sufficient knowhow and experience in tackling terrorism to increase their assistance to us.
The relief agencies that are already working here should please double their efforts. And all people of goodwill should help in any way they can and to do more than they have been doing to alleviate the pain and suffering that we Nigerians face through this insurgency. At a time when we are constantly bombarded with horror stories of ugly events elsewhere in the world – here in West Africa, we are faced with the Ebola epidemic and other trouble spots – I draw your attention to a humanitarian crisis which is also a matter of international security.
This Boko Haram insurgency has been with us now for several years but has, in these last few days, taken a step further towards being a disaster of unimaginable proportions. Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk. Nigeria needs the world’s support. The world must not abandon Nigerians in our time of need.
Thank you.
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Well said! Alh. Atiku Abubakar. It's said that those who makes peaceful negotiations impossible will make trouble negotiations a possibility. I for1 knws the wicked game of blood sucking of innocent nigeriansthis govt has embarked for 2015. Its all ploy to disenfranchised electorate majority in the northeast as he knws I will nt win their votes.

When you guys where busy arming and training them, you thought you were going to terrorize GEJ abi Now una don dey cry..........

Atiku, you stood up when it mattered most that's why I feel your pain. You urged your brothers to kill Yerima's political sharia madness but they ignored you. Now look at the north - its become more crippled than it has ever been since Lugard collided us with them.

As much as I feel your pain, I have this to say: Those who make political sharia and violent religiosity possible make monumental chaos and anarchy inevitable.

I hope your brothers learn one or two things when they come out of this - if they do come out of it.

What is this BH sponsor saying? When he said those who make peaceful impossible make violence inevitable, didn't he know the meaning? When he said they would make Nigeria ungovernable did he think there would be peace afterwards? Atiku and your US collaborators, please keep enjoying your handiworks till it gets to your village and university.

SkySpirit:
What is this BH sponsor saying? When he said those who make peaceful impossible make violence inevitable, didn't he know the meaning? When he said they would make Nigeria ungovernable did he think there would be peace afterwards? Atiku and your US collaborators, please keep enjoying your handiworks till it gets to your village and university.

Nonsense!

Someone in Aso rock took an oath to protect Nigerians. He did not take an oath to apportion blames for insecurity!

fyneguy:


Nonsense!

Someone in Aso rock took an oath to protect Nigerians. He did not take an oath to apportion blames for insecurity!

nansense

Ain't my problem.
War requires brains and there is a dearth of brains right now.

Atiku, these boko haram want shangi!
they want shangi to charia.
they dont want any banza constitution.
Since you wont allow peaceful shangi to charia,
you make this violent shangi inevitable.

Nctrice:
in the words of Ban ki Moon: "A missile can kill a terrorist, but only Good Governance can kill Terrorism"... our leaders has failed us, (And this includes Atiku himself)! I don't want to believe that GEJ does not have the political will power to crush theses terrorists, I just believe that amongst the elites, something is wrong somewhere and someone is deceiving us!

Majority of terrorists read from one book and one book only, the Quran. How does good governance stop that? How about - get rid of those texts that sanction murder and terror from Koran, wouldn't that go a long way instead of blaming bad governance alone? If good governance was the cause, why do Pakistani terrorists cross into India to commit terror? Is bad governance in India the problem of Pakistan? Is bad governance in UK the reason terrorists bombed UK's subways? What about Spain...isn't it on records that terrorists bombed Spanish train? Is that bad governance too?

I'm lost as to why this 'bad governance mantra' is more prevalent in Muslim dominated countries. Is it a mere coincidence or is it something rooted in religion and culture?

This political correctness has got to stop.

Na today u wake? Atikpu e don tey! Why u no talk since the haramited started killing Christians,burning church etc?