Boko Haram attacks has escalated under Buhari~Ekweremadu

Firstclass newsline learnt that the Deputy Senate President, Ike
Ekweremadu, on Thursday said the Boko Haram insurgency had worsened
under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ekweremadu said the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration
had almost rolled back Boko Haram and its activities in the
North-East.
The deputy senate president also expressed the fear the insurgents
could also attack Abuja and the southern part of the country soon.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, he chose not to answer questions on
his alleged involvement in the forgery of senate rules but said he had
been worried about the renewed attacks by Boko Haram.
He said, "I am worried about the resurgence of Boko Haram activities
in Nigeria. Shortly before the inauguration of the present government,
the country had almost rolled back Boko Haram and its activities in
every part of Nigeria – from Adamawa to Borno to Yobe.
"I was hoping that when we come back in the 8th Assembly, that I will
work with our colleagues from the North-East to develop a plan of
action that will help to rehabilitate that part of Nigeria. I feel so
concerned about the suffering of our people from the North-East of
Nigeria.
"I had hoped that by now we would be tasking ourselves on how best to
rebuild that part of Nigeria. Regrettably the actions of Boko Haram
seem to have resurfaced now; not only in Borno, they have carried out
their activities also in Plateau, they have gone to Adamawa and
Kaduna.
"I am worried that if nothing is done, the next target would be Abuja.
Maybe they will start going to the South. It is important for us as
those in government, whether executive or legislature, to come
together to find solutions to these problems."
He therefore appealed to Nigeria's neighbouring countries and the
international community to support the country to roll back the
activities of Boko Haram, stressing that there was no way the nation
could achieve progress in the country without peace.
He said the Buhari administration should, as a matter of urgency,
"deal with this security challenge no matter what it would cost us."
He also called for collaboration between the executive and the
legislature in order to deal with the scourge.
"We must be on the same page on this matter. I believe that it is time
for us to have meetings with the executive as well as the security
agencies in order to find out exactly what has happened – why the
resurgence of these Boko Haram activities and what we can do as a
people to ensure that this matter is dealt with decisively,"
Ekweremadu said.
He expressed sympathy with the Boko Haram's victims and called for an
immediate action to stop the menace.
He said, "We believe our President would sit on top of this situation
because we believe that Nigerians are worried about this situation and
they would like to see an end to Boko Haram activities.
"We would like to do everything to encourage our President, to support
him and bring this situation to an end so that we would be able to
have peace within this area – the North-East of Nigeria and indeed all
parts of Nigeria.
"Whatever has caused this insurgence, we need to address it and
aggressively too before it gets too late. I am very worried about the
situation. I do hope that we would be able to work together to find
solution to this and come to the end of this Boko Haram activities.
"It is not giving us any good image, it is damaging our reputation all
over the world, it is damaging our lives, and it is damaging our
properties. It has disoriented our brothers and sisters in the
North-East.
"The education sector has suffered there, even the economy of the
place has suffered so much, and our brothers and sisters from other
part of the country that lived there have since left the place. It is
a big challenge we must all come together to deal with."
The deputy senate president, nevertheless, expressed the hope that the
nation would overcome the challenge.
"I will like to assure our friends and the international community
that the challenge, though enormous, is not beyond our control," he
said.
In reaction, the Presidency said Ekweremadu was entitled to his opinion.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi
Adesina, said this in an interview with a source.
Adesina said the fact that the deputy president of the Senate made
such statement did not make it right.
"Senator Ekweremadu is entitled to his opinion. That however does not
mean that he is right," the presidential spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the United States has said that defeating Boko Haram
requires a comprehensive approach.
The US Deputy Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, at a press
conference on Thursday in Abuja, assured Nigeria of America's support
"as Nigeria develops this comprehensive approach."
Blinken stated that rescuing the abducted Chibok schoolgirls remained
one of US priorities.
He said, "Defeating Boko Haram requires a comprehensive approach that
involves the region and includes not only a strong military response,
but also sustainable security for liberated areas, good governance,
development, and opportunity for the civilian population.
"It also requires a strong commitment to human rights, the absence of
which only alienates the people and drives them toward Boko Haram. As
Nigeria develops this comprehensive approach, the United States will
deepen our support."
The deputy secretary of state said the US had been assisting Nigeria
by providing training, equipment, advice, information, intelligence
sharing and logistic support, adding that America recently donated
$40m to the global security fund as part of the moves to promote joint
efforts with the Lake Chad countries to strengthen cross-border
security, cooperation and capacity to combat Boko Haram.
Also, Blinken stated that the US government, as part of the support
package, released $5m to the Multinational Joint Task Force to
strengthen the fight against the insurgents.
He assured that his country would begin training for investigators and
training on border security, post-blast investigation and crisis
management.
Blinken said, "I know there are many more young girls and women who
are missing, our focus is on them as well. We will continue to provide
assistance to the government in an attempt to look for them, find them
and bring them home."
Firstclassnewsline.net