“Isn’t the government of the day a popular government? Is it not a participatory government? Why doesn’t public opinion(s) matter to it? Or isn’t public opinion(s) considered an ingredient to the government of the day?”
The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Jamaatu Nasril Islam, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll, has condemned the incessant killings by Boko Haram insurgents and bandits across the country.
Abubakar, who is the leader of Nigerian Muslims, said the issue of insecurity in the country especially in the North should give the government sleepless nights.
The Sultan, who spoke through the JNI’s Secretary General, Dr Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, in a statement urged the military to do more to bring an end to the menace of insecurity in the country.
The statement reads, “The repeated massacre of people, as well as the senseless burning of houses and livestock in Borno, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger states and indeed other states such as Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba, should give governments and its functionaries at both federal and state levels sleepless nights.
“By now, an instantaneous pronouncement followed by robust actions should have been made by the government of the day, not verbal warnings and condemnations dished out to the perpetrators of the murderous acts.
“As stakeholders, we strongly believe that the repeated killings are blame worthy, and no one found culpable in this gross act of negligence should be spared.
“In all honesty, all erring personnel would have been dealt with decisively by now or they themselves should have honourably resigned, as oftentimes seen in other climes.
“The most pathetic of all these incidences were that even the normal administrative panels of inquiries are not considered, not to talk of a thorough investigative panel, where at least citizens would appear and ventilate their feelings.
“Isn’t the government of the day a popular government? Is it not a participatory government?
“Why doesn’t public opinion(s) matter to it? Or isn’t public opinion(s) considered an ingredient to the government of the day?”
The JNI also queried the sincerity of the armed forces' fight against insecurity just at it alluded to the rumours making the rounds that security operatives do not want the war on Boko Haram to end, ‘because of the lucrative benefits they allethegedly derive therefrom.’
“Make no mistake, insecurity bedevilling North Western states and some of the North Central states are more or less an extension of Boko Haram.
“Take, for instance, the person (one of the gang leaders) responsible for terrorizing neighbouring communities in the forests of Katsina and Zamfara axis is called Kachalla (a Kanuri usual name), which is, of course, one tragedy too many for Nigeria!
“We will, therefore, continue to ask questions: how have the perpetrators been able to gain access to such to successfully perpetrate such heinous crimes unabated“How have the perpetrators been able to access to weapons, despite the Nigerian borders’ closure?
“Some will argue that it isn’t lethal, such as bombings! Then if so, where is the humanity in us? As you cannot claim to be a man of faith, without having the feeling of humanity in you!
“We ask again, aren’t the security operatives conversant with Sun Tzu’s Five Types of Spies in his The Art of War: local, inside, double, doomed and surviving?”