MADUABUCHI NMERIBEH/Kano

Goodluck Jonathan : accused of supporting Boko Haram

More fingers are pointing at Nigeria’s Central Government under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, accusing it of sponsoring insurgency in the Northeast and other parts of the North.

Sheikh Muhammad Mahmoud Turi, one of the leaders of El-Zakzaky Muslim Sect declared on Thursday in Kano, northwest Nigeria that the Federal Government has a hand in the killings and maiming of innocent lives in the North.

According to him, the consistent operation of the sect in the Northeast and other parts of the North for years now indicated that government and its agencies have a hand in the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram who have been killing people and rendering many homeless on daily basis.

Sheikh Mahmoud who spoke to journalists at NUJ Press Centre also said his people would commence a six-day mass trekking ritual from Kano to Zaria starting from Sunday, December 7, to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, a freedom fighter.

On Wednesday, National Chairman of the All Progressive Ccongress, APC, also slammed President Jonathan’s government over Boko Haram urging Nigerians to hold the government responsible.

This is coming few days after Nigerian government exonerated itself from sponsoring insurgency.

APC National Chairman, John Odigie Oyegun noted in Kano, northwest Nigeria that the Federal Government has not displayed the political will to stop insurgency and other violent crimes in the country.

He was in Kano with other party officials to commiserate with the government and people Kano over last Frida’s bomb blasts at Kano central Mosque.

They donated N5 million to the victims.

They visited the Emir’s Palace and the hospitals where they condoled with the victims.

Oyegun who spoke in Kano Government House where Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje received them on behalf of his boss, Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso who is out of Kano for official engagement, said: “We are in a situation where we have a government, we have security service which now seem to be totally either unwilling or impotent, both of which are equally bad, because they are not willing to control the situation or you are also powerless that you are unable to control the situation.

“The fear today is that we are gradually crippling towards anarchy. We are not talking of den guns anymore. We are not even talking about pistols; we are now talking of automatic weapons in the hands of people all over; in every part of the nation.

“My personal fear is that one day we will wake up and we will find a nation that is totally ungovernable. My pray is that this does not happen before February 15 when it will become clear that forces of progress—people who truly believe in Nigerian nation—people who truly believe that this country was put together by God for a purpose—the devil is diverting us today from that purpose. Bad leadership is diverting us from that purpose.
“A leadership that cannot summon the will nor the courage to take decisions are diverting us from that purpose. Nigeria has become a name that is despised, virtually despised world-wide.

“Even our own African brothers are beginning to virtually laugh at us because even they cannot understand that these people called insurgents can be allowed to roam so freely in the northeastern part of this country such that only a few days ago, they could drive into Damaturu, get to Government House, held the whole state capital under siege before our military could get them under control at great cost in human lives—even to themselves.

“We did not have even the simplest iota of intelligence. We did not have people on the lookout in the outskirt of the town—it is really difficult to describe and you cannot but begin to believe that there is active connivance on those who ought to be protecting us, of the government that we put in place to protect this nation.

“So it is a situation that is difficult to understand, it is difficult to explain, it is a situation like I said that is getting rather close to anarchy with the attack on Yola and in Damaturu, we are getting near a state when even Maiduguri might cut-off. It might not be possible if we are not careful, we cannot drive to Maiduguri because other roads are already infested. The one that we all thought was saved is virtually also going the same way.

“So, we cannot but hold our government responsible because they have not displayed the will, they have not displayed the courage, they have not displayed the commitment that it takes to face the vicious enemies like Boko Haram.”

Expressing sympathy to the Kano people, he further stated that, “we convey our truly, truly sincere and health felt condolences to the people of Kano state for the very great bereavement which they have suffered and we will only pray for the souls that have been so viciously cut-short to rest in perfect peace.”

The APC boss also regretted that, “ordinary Nigerians are beginning to wonder, they are beginning to ask questions as to what is really going on—that people that are so well armed, people with sophisticated weapon; not just the bombs that any fool can throw, but sophisticated weaponry, and so unfeeling, so totally devoid of any human touch cannot only detonate bombs, but at the same time reign bullets on people who already running away for dear lives.

“It paints a picture of this nation that is difficult to understand, that is difficult to reconcile with, that we now have Nigerians in our midst for no justifiable reason, for ideological reason, for issue of saying we are an oppressed people, we are fighting for our freedom from we don’t know who—almost for nothing than waste human lives to the extent that we are beginning to experience.”

Sheikh Mahmoud regretted that in Nigeria, people are now being slaughtered like chickens on daily basis, adding that, “it is an open secret that the present government cannot exonerate itself from all these mayhem that is happening in the country. It is so obvious that whatever may be the reason, nobody in the country can tell us that the government is not aware or has no hand in what is happening, the government is fully responsible and there is no doubt about it.

“If one is saying that government is not Boko Haram, how did soldiers get guns to kill us in Zaria. Are they not the Boko Haram? Who killed the three sons of our national leader in Zaria? In a broad day light, the soldiers killed our people. Those children were university students and Boko Haram means education is sin; then the soldiers killed them for nothing sake! The soldiers are the Boko Haram.

“I cannot agree with the Vice President or any other person who made such a presentation that the government can be exonerated from the activities of Boko Haram. Nobody anywhere in Nigeria can agree to that—except if that person is neither afraid or he is a politician. You can never exonerate or different the government with Boko Haram,” he stated.

According to him, the sect remain a peaceful and law-abiding organization, adding that what informed his interaction with press men is to create awareness just as he urged Nigerians not to panic when they see them trekking en mass.

“By commemorating the Arba’een, we pledge that we will continue to follow the path of justice and righteousness and will teject injustice and speak up against the oppressors of the time. In essence, we will make a promise to continue to mold our lives according to the teaching of Imam Hussain (AS) as we await the emergence of Imam Mahdi (AS),” he stated.

The Islamic cleric, however, lamented incessant attacks on his members by security agencies, insisting that the sect were being “persecuted” unjustly as they do not engage in crime or violent activities.