Minister of Special Duties and Inter Governmental Affairs, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki has commended Igbos for their support to the Federal Government saying that the Government has also reciprocated by appointing them into sensitive positions.
Receiving a powerful delegation of the Igbo World Union (IWU) on behalf of President Jonathan on Tuesday evening, at his office in Abuja, Turaki praised Igbos for standing behind the President and the Federal Government and urged them to continue to support this administration.
The Minister who received the IWU who were accompanied by the President’s Special Adviser on Ethics and Values, Mrs Sarah Jibril said “that Mr. President has given prominent sons and daughters of Igboland key positions in managing this country’s economy is a reflection of the confidence Mr. President has in the Igbo nation.
“That we can get this kind of support from the IWU, people who have traversed the length and breadth of the world is heart-warming”, the Minister said.
Turaki also recalled that another worthy son of Igboland, Pius Anyim Pius was appointed as the secretary to the government of the Federation (SGF).
On security challenges in the country, the Minister recounted efforts of the Goodluck Administration in bringing the menace of insurgency to an end, insisting that the Federal Government has done far more than what have been appreciated.
According to Turaki, “let me say that many Nigerians do not understand the complexities of the war against terror because terrorism is a new phenomenon as far as Nigeria is concerned.
Let us cast our minds back to about eleven or twelve months ago when there were terrorist activities in about 13 states -Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna Niger, Kogi, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Jigawa, Taraba, Adamawa and FCT.
Today, Mr. President has been able to push the activities of the terrorist to only 3 states within 7 months. This has never been done anywhere in the world. Within these three states, where state of emergency has been proclaimed namely: Borno, Yobe and AdamawaMr. President gave a clear directive to the security agencies to flush them out and the insurgents have been cleared from the municipalities of these 3 states.
“They (insurgents) moved into the forest, the Sambisa and other forests thereby making the municipal areas very safe.
“Mr. President did not stop there. He gave further directives to chase them to the forest where they are and flush them out from there and two times, Nigerian security agencies went into Sambisa Forest and dislodged the terrorists.
“Now what we need to understand here is you pushed them into 3 state and in these three state, you pushed them out of the municipalities into the villages and forests and you are now pushing them out of the forests.
“They can’t stay in the forests and they can’t go into the cities, so, they have to be mobile and they begin to move in local government areas that border the Sambisa forest. There are 5 (local government areas) LGAs in Borno and 3 in Yobe making it 8 LGAs where the insurgents show strong presence.
“Because of their desperation, and because the Government is closing in on them, any where they go, wherever they meet a group of people, they unleash maximum terror on them”, Turaki added.
The Minister further lamented that “some people take a serious national matter like insurgency
and begin to play politics with it” and called for change of heart.
He went to say that “we have 774 LGAs in the country today but the federal government has restricted the activities of the terrorists to 8 LGAs.
“We have 36 states in Nigeria in addition to the FCT, yet their activities are restricted to only 3 states in this country, yet some people are saying the government is not doing enough.
“I want to assure Nigerians that Mr. President is committed to ensuring that the lives and properties of Nigerians are protected wherever they may be within the geographical entity called Nigeria.
“The commitment of the present administration to bring back the Chibok girls as soon as possible is something that is unwavering”, Turaki insisted.
Earlier in their address, the IWU leader, Mishak Nnanta had told the Minister that his group believed in the unity of Nigeria and that that they were happy with how President Jonathan had treated Igbos as well as the way the President has been piloting the affairs of the country.
He cited the Enugu international airport, the construction of the second Niger Bridge, and the rehabilitation of the Enugu – Portharcourt Expressway.
They also “condemn in totality, the recent abduction of the Chibok girls” and urged the President to “continue with his Transformation Agenda, not withstanding all the distractions.”
