The
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described as uncouth, uncharitable and
insulting to Nigerians the presidency's reaction to last week's visit of
the progressive governors to Borno state, wondering when it became an
offence for Nigerians to visit any other part of their country.
In
a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the presidency's reaction can only be
likened to the antics of a punch-drunk boxer who, having been
knocked out by his opponent, suddenly got up and started
punching the referee whom he mistook for the guy who
knocked him out.
''There
is no doubt that the visit of the governors was a knock-out for the waffling
presidency. Now punch-drunk, the clearly disoriented presidency has
resorted to blaming the courageous and trail-blazing governors whose only
offence is that they dared to show solidarity for the people of Borno
and Yobe, the two states that have been worst-hit by the Boko
Haram crisis.
''These
governors dismissed the presidency's shameless attempt to scare them away from
Borno with a cooked security report. They walked around the volatile
Maiduguri market without bullet proof vests or helmets, to the chagrin of
the President and Commander-in-Chief who has opted to hide behind the Aso Rock
fortress,'' it said.
ACN
said that for the presidency to now choose to denigrate the governors and
accuse them of crass opportunism is the height of irresponsibility.
''Most
laughable is the accusation that the governors preempted the visit of President
Jonathan to Borno. Who did the presidency
inform of his impending visit? When did it become the business of governors to
tailor their movement to that of the President? Where has the
President been since 2011 when he assumed office after his election? What
took him so long to visit a troubled part of the country, especially
since he claimed to have received a pan-Nigeria mandate?
''The
truth is that the President was so embarrassed by the visit of the governors
that he quickly packaged his own visit. Instead of quietly licking its
wounds, the presidency opted to dance naked in the market square by accusing
those who blazed the trail, who showed the way to a clueless and
visionless federal government.
''Irrespective
of what the presidency may say, the beleaguered people of Borno and Yobe
appreciate the solidarity of their fellow Nigerians, as shown by the
governors' visit. The people of Nigeria also appreciate the courage and
compassion of the governors. Anyone trying to denigrate the visit is
attracting more love for the governors and public opprobrium for the presidency,''
the party said.
ACN
also reacted to the accusation that it is playing politics with the killing of
the Commissioner of Police of Kwara State, saying the part's statement,
that the killing of such a top security chief sends a wrong signal about the
state of the country's security, cannot be faulted by any right-thinking
person.
''How
are we playing politics by calling for reinforced security for those whose
responsibility it is to protect others? Where is the politics in calling
for the apprehension and prosecution of those behind the dastardly act? What is
wrong in calling the attention of a prostrate presidency to the
worsening insecurity in the country?
''Contrary
to the presidency's statement that President Jonathan has performed well in curbing
insurgency, the truth is that the presidency - bereft of ideas on how to
curb the insurgency - has instead chosen to bury its head in the sand, like the
proverbial ostrich. Otherwise, it would have known that the senseless
killings by Boko Haram has continued. Only on Tuesday, gunmen killed
a DPO and nine others in Borno, in what has been a daily trend in
recent days, despite the cease-fire concocted by a desperate and clueless
federal government,'' the party said.
Alhaji
Lai Mohammed
National
Publicity Secretary
Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
Abuja,
March 6th 2013
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