Anger, sorrow as Northeast’s displaced persons protest in Jos

Anger, sorrow as Northeast’s displaced persons protest in Jos

Anger, sorrow as Northeast’s displaced persons protest in Jos.But according to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the total number of Nigerians, who were displaced as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency, had risen to 650,000.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the country has witnessed thousands of deaths and 221,000 square kilometres of its territory captured by sect.
The APC described as a scorecard of failure, the claims of achievements by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in its almost 60 months in the saddle, saying Nigerians could not wait to sweep away the governments.
“Today, after the Jonathan administration has spent $32 billion on security and defence, Nigeria is not any safer, with thousands of deaths, 221,000 square kilometres of territory captured by Boko Haram, 650,000 Nigerians internally displaced and also a daily harvest of death from ethno-religious crisis, clashes between pastoralists and farmers, armed robberies and kidnapping.
“To make matters worse, our once proud and globally-acknowledged military has been brought to its knees by lack of necessary fighting equipment, even with $32 billion spent. One wonders where the huge funds went to,” the party added.
It also accused the President of insensitivity to the plight of the people who voted him into office, as he would rather fly to Burkina Faso than visit Chibok, Buni Yadi and Potiskum, which are some of the places where dozens of youth have been killed and maimed by the Boko Haram terrorists in recent times.
“The President should not just be the Commander-in-Chief but also the Consoler-in-Chief. A President who delights in comparing himself with the likes Obama must learn to act like the U.S. President, who did not hesitate to visit his nation’s troops in Iraq and Afghanistan despite the risks involved,” he added.
The Catholic Bishops Conference also decried the method of sharing relief materials to the displaced people.
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with the President last week, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, urged the Federal Government to collaborate with the church, claiming it had good relief structure on ground.
He said: “We are here on behalf of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria. We came not to wish him a bad day, but to talk about our nation. We had some concerns about the situation of security in the nation as well as political developments. So, in general terms, we shared with him in a conversation and discussion.”
Saying the bishops felt that things were not right, the cleric noted that Nigerian territory was being taken away.
He said: “The people we look after are displaced, their homes, their villages, towns are captured and they are internally displaced in their own land.
“We thought this is not right. We have families that are just stranded. We thought that the President should know. As Catholics, we have laid a good structure for relief and taking care of such situations. We want the government to collaborate with us”