Former VP Atiku Abubakar who is from Adamawa state, one of
the worst hit by Boko Haram, held a press conference today November 3rd at the
Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja where he addressed the attacks of the sect
members on Mubi and other towns in northern Nigeria. Atiku described the
current situation as grave and appealed to the international community to come
to Nigeria's aid. Full text of his speech after the cut...
Gentlemen of the
Press:
It is with deep
regret that I came to learn that Mubi, which is one the largest towns in
Adamawa State of northeast Nigeria, has been taken by the terrorist group
commonly known as Boko Haram. As you may know, in recent weeks and
months, Mubi has been a town to which displaced persons from further north have
fled for safety after their communities fell to Boko Haram. As I speak,
the inhabitants of Mubi, together with those who went there for safety, find
themselves at the mercy of this terrorist group.
I am Nigerian.
I believe in the integrity of Nigeria as a whole, and every part of this
country matters to me. But I was born and bred in the northeast.
So, please, excuse me if I should say a few words about the part of the country
where I am from, about what the people from the northeast of Nigeria have had
to suffer for far, far too long.
Things should never
have got to this stage. Thousands of Nigerians have had to flee their
homes. Their houses and farms have been destroyed. They do not know
where to go or how to restart their lives. That is the degree to which we
have come in this country. I say this with reluctance and with shame. The
situation in which we find ourselves today is grave. Much of Borno, and
the north of Adamawa and Yobe states is already at the mercy of the
terrorists. It started a few months ago with Bama, which is nearly 400
kilometres from Yola, capital of Adamawa State.
The next major town
to be taken by terrorists was Gwoza, where a terrorist caliphate flag has long
been hoisted. Smaller towns near Gwoza such as Pulka and Limankra are
equally not free. Next was Madagali. The town is still being
occupied. Then fell Gulak. Next was Michika, then Bazza. Next
was the twin town of Uba which is half Adamawa and half Bornu. Its
neighboring town of Lassa was also overrun. Uba was the latest town
captured before the terrorists trampled on Mubi. People from these
troubled areas are now pouring into Yola for safety.
As somebody who hails
from Adamawa State, you can appreciate why I feel such emotion at the fate of
my people. For whatever reason, our defence forces are unable
to cope and unable to defend. My sympathies go out to the soldiers who find
themselves in a situation not of their making. This is a crisis of
leadership.
We were told that the
budget for security was going to be enlarged so that the security agencies and
military would be in a better position to tackle the insurgency. How is
it possible that a great nation like Nigeria should find itself in a situation
where a handful of terrorists is able to invade a town as large as Mubi with a
population of about 300,000? How were the insurgents able to so easily take a
town of this size, and the people find themselves defenseless and
undefended? How is it that the people have been made to suffer as they
have?
I have previously
spoken about the deteriorating security situation in this country on a number
of occasions. On those occasions I deliberately restrained myself from speaking
in a manner that might be construed as distracting the government and the
security forces as they grappled with the dire security situation. But
the scale of injustice the people of Nigeria are suffering has reached a stage
where I am obliged to amplify my concerns.
Many of our citizens,
unable to come to terms with why a so-called “Africa’s best army” has been
unable to confront this horrendous situation, are increasingly assuming that
this whole thing is about electoral politics. They suspect that the
seeming inability of the government to end the crisis is a ploy to weaken some
parts of the country ahead of the 2015 elections. Can we, in all honesty, blame
them for having those suspicions?
I call upon the
international community to help us. I am making a special appeal to
countries with sufficient knowhow and experience in tackling terrorism to increase
their assistance to us.
The relief agencies
that are already working here should please double their efforts. And all
people of goodwill should help in any way they can and to do more than they
have been doing to alleviate the pain and suffering that we Nigerians face
through this insurgency. At a time when we are constantly bombarded
with horror stories of ugly events elsewhere in the world – here in West
Africa, we are faced with the Ebola epidemic and other trouble spots – I draw
your attention to a humanitarian crisis which is also a matter of international
security.
This Boko Haram
insurgency has been with us now for several years but has, in these last few
days, taken a step further towards being a disaster of unimaginable
proportions. Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk. Nigeria needs
the world’s support. The world must not abandon Nigerians in our time of
need.
Thank you
.
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