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Tag: boko haram

  • Insurgency: An administration’s many flip-flops

    Insurgency: An administration’s many flip-flops

    There’s something very odd about the way the Federal Government under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan has been handling the Boko Haram insurgency that has paralysed some parts of the northern region of the country.

    Its positions shift with each new crisis. In most cases they appear to have been taken based on political expediency, only to be retracted not long after.

    One of the most common criticisms about Jonathan’s handling of the war against the killer sect is that he seems incapable of making up his mind as to the approach to be used in tackling what is now an obvious menace.

    Right from the very onset of the crisis it has been a tale of craven flip-flops. Here are some notable examples:

    Handling Boko Haram

    Flip: The Federal Government on April 27, 2014 speaking through the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the Boko Haram insurgency could be contained and insisted the country was not facing a wider conflict as it heads for elections next year.

    “There is no war … there is an insurgency. We are not in a Colombia situation,” she said.

    Flop: Few days later on the 28th of April, Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, said the problem was beyond Nigeria and urgent assistance may be needed to handle it before it is too late.

    “I think what we need is international cooperation from the French, from the French-speaking west African countries to work together to deal with this problem before it becomes a major problem for France, for western interests operating in west Africa,” he said.

    Classifying Boko Haram

    Flip: Early last year, the government loudly opposed a plan by the United States to classify Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). Campaigns about Nigeria not being a terrorist state in spite of the presence of Boko Haram on its soil were mounted by government agencies locally and internationally.

    Flop: Last May 17, in far away France, President Goodluck Jonathan surprised many world leaders when he shifted his positions of many years and agreed with a point raised by French President François Hollande.

    “This group is armed, with heavy weapons of an unimaginable sophistication and the ability to use them,” Hollande had said.

    “Boko Haram is acting clearly as an al-Qaeda operation,” said Jonathan, who had only reluctantly accepted outside help after years of insisting the group was a local problem.

    Negotiating with Boko Haram

    Flip: President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the Federal Government is still open to constructive dialogue with the Boko Haram sect to end insurgency in the North East zone of the country.

    Flop: President Jonathan barely a week later, during a two-day visit to Borno and Yobe States, the group’s hotbed, had ruled out dialoguing or meeting with the group, saying they are “faceless.” “We will not dialogue with ghosts,” he said.

    Amnesty for Boko Haram

    Flip: Minister of Youth Development, Mr. Boni Haruna, last Thursday revealed that President Goodluck Jonathan has announced amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect as part of his administration’s youths-friendly policies.

    Flop: Barely 24 hours after the Minister gleefully announced the amnesty deal President Jonathan’s spokesman said there will be no amnesty for the fighters.

    Given previous patterns we have definitely not heard the last about this matter.

  • AU in fresh effort to rescue abducted Chibock girls

    AU in fresh effort to rescue abducted Chibock girls

    The Africa Union (AU) yesterday  announced plan to engage Nigeria’s  Federal Government and other stakeholders in a meeting,as part of the  fresh effort  to rescue the more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram  in Chibok, Borno.

    The AU Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Mrs Benita Diop, told reporters at the close of the Conference of Ministers of Social Development in Addis Ababa   that  details of the ‘new approach’ would be discussed with Nigerian officials  in Abuja tomorrow.

    Diop will be on the delegation of the AU to the Abuja talks.

    The envoy, who addressed the meeting on AU’s effort to secure the girls, said the continental body would continue to evolve mechanisms to protect the girl-child through robust policies on education, among others.

    The AU Ministers, under the auspices of the Fourth Conference on Social Development convened with stakeholders to review efforts toward ending child marriage in Africa.

    The African Union Commission had announced that 39,000 underage girls were sent out for marriage daily in Africa and urged for more efforts to tackle the practise and allow such girls to face their future through adequate education.

    The AU had during the just-concluded meeting launched a campaign tagged “End Child Marriage Now’’ where it called for urgent measures to tackle the growing spate of the cultural practise that had hit the continent with daily record of 39,000 victims.

    The campaign would be carried out in 10 selected countries of the continent, where the culture of child marriage is highly practised.

    The continental body listed Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Sierra Leone and Zambia among the first set of countries where the campaign would hold.

    The campaign is being supported by AU partners, including UNICEF, UNFPA, UNECA, Plan International, the Canadian Government, Save the Children, Africa Child Policy Forum (ACPF) and DFID.

     

  • Boko Haram: Carrot and stick approach best option, AANI tells Jonathan

    Boko Haram: Carrot and stick approach best option, AANI tells Jonathan

    The Alumni Association of National Institute for Strategic Policy (AANISPP) has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to adopt the carrot and stick approach to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

    Its President, Major General Lawrence Onoja (rtd), and the Secretary General, Issa Aremu, spoke with newsmen at the AANI Secretariat in Maitama, Abuja at the weekend.

    Onoja said Jonathan can apply the carrot and stick approach, particularly in the efforts to bring back the over 200 students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, abducted by the Boko Haram sect many weeks ago.

    He said: “Our position on this is that we need the combination of all the strategies; there is nothing wrong in using a dual approach -the carrot and stick.

    “I remember vividly that eveT in solving the problems of Israelis and the Lebanese, sometimes, prisoners were exchanged in order to restore peace.

    “All we want is peace and if there is anything the federal government can do, in addition to what it is already doing to bring peace and bring these children back to their parents will, be welcome.

    The former Military Administrator of Plateau and Katsina States emphasised that Jonathan must combine the strategy of constructive engagement with all stakeholders including traditional rulers.

    “This requires the cooperation of people as well as complimentary security delivery by the government,” he said.

    The association also visited victims of the Nyanya bombings in various hospitals and condemned the acts of terrorism across the country.

     

  • Is anyone really subverting Jonathan’s govt?

    Is anyone really subverting Jonathan’s govt?

    President Goodluck Jonathan pursues red herrings with relentlessness that shames his security forces’ pusillanimous effort to exterminate the Boko Haram menace he now says threatens his government. Dr Jonathan’s dilemma is clear: in his uncomplicated philosophy, he had expected to run a presidency that would not be challenged beyond its normal capacity, that would not be threatened by any force, overt or covert, that would have easy ride into fame and acclaim. His delicate worldview explains why he constantly sees plans to bring down his government when all he is confronted with is simple criminality committed by extremists, sponsored or self-motivated. If anyone, therefore, expects the Jonathan government to rise up to the challenges confronting his government with the seriousness and brilliance great leaders muster, such expectations are obviously misplaced.

    Speaking at the Democracy Day interdenominational church service in Abuja last Sunday, Dr Jonathan said this of Boko Haram: “You can imagine if this government had not been facing these distractions within this period, definitely, we would have moved farther than this. All these distractions are planned to bring this government down and since they failed, terror will also fail. We have been witnessing terror attacks for two years plus, but the Chibok incident has added a major dent on the security of the country. There is nothing God cannot do. With your prayers, our girls will be seen by our security personnel. Terror will not stop this country from progressing. We know that these terrorists are human and they are evil men. Definitely, they are among those we categorise as evil forces. Forces of evil will never prevail. Forces of darkness will never prevail. I call on all Nigerians, Christians and non-Christians who pray, to continue to pray and I believe that God is on our side. Forces of evil and darkness will never prevail.”

    His view on the Boko Haram insurgency is a disingenuous variant of the conspiracy theories he and some of his aides began to nurture when all their puny efforts to rein in the sect failed. He had tried propaganda, but this weapon failed because the art of propaganda, a common denominator in many dictatorships, proved too arduous and complex for him and his cabinet. Then he tried prayer, but his prayers and those of others he was able to rally when the insurgency started to take on fierce urgency fell flat on his discredited theology, a theology he characteristically anchored on nothing resembling personal, public or governmental fidelity to truth, justice and equity. And rather than find ingenious ways of ending the rebellion, he first considered it as nothing bigger than a routine challenge to a secular government, then turned round to clothe it with religion to enable him preach and proffer the anodyne effects of more prayers.

    But even if it were true that someone, not the least Boko Haram, conspired to bring down his government, should his response be to assail the problem with lethargy and unending dissimulation? It was expected he would reorganise his security forces, adopt a scientific approach to combating the terrorists, and execute his counterterrorism strategies with conviction and determination that admit no chance of failure. Rather than inspiringly lead the charge, however, he has sought to curry sympathy, mine religious emotions, lather them with ethnic sentiments propagated by his sabre-rattling and rabble-rousing supporters, and top them with wasteful, uncoordinated and ineffective style of governance. He and his commanders can’t even agree on strategy, with him ruling out negotiation, and his officers expediently counselling and countenancing anything but force.

    More than six weeks after the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, and well after the president and his aides had finally managed to persuade themselves against their natural instincts that an abduction took place, neither he nor his commanders are sure how many schoolgirls were actually abducted, let alone calibrate their strategies to match the information at their disposal. Dr Jonathan must understand that the Boko Haram menace is less about bringing down his government than subverting the entire country and its constitution. The terrorists are not so stupid to think that by deposing Dr Jonathan, the decadent system that enrages them would unravel. They know that in spite of what Dr Jonathan thinks of himself, he is irrelevant in their calculations. It is time the president began to de-emphasise himself in the equation and appreciate that the peace and security of the country transcend his feeling of self-importance. He must understand that his government’s appalling tactics of sponsoring countervailing “Bring Back Our Girls” demonstrations to focus on the terrorists rather than his failing presidency is cheap and counterproductive.

  • Boko Haram will not overcome, says Omobude

    THE radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram, will not succeed in its quest to draw Nigeria back to the Stone Age, the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Rev. Felix Omobude, has declared.

    “PFN is resolute that evil shall not overcome our land. We categorically maintain that there is no place in Nigeria and there will never be for such an anachronistic and retrogressive philosophy which the so-called Boko Haram terrorists ignorantly espouse.

    “There cannot be accommodation for a misguided ideology which operates directly in opposition to civilisation, stands against education and seeks to relegate our women to the background,” Omobude reiterated.

    The PFN’s leader, in a statement by the body’s Director, Media and Public Relations, Simbo Olorunfemi, expressed outcry over the abduction of over 200 students of Government Girls Secondary School Chibok in Maiduguri over a month ago.

    He said: “We condemn, in the strongest terms possible, this callous act on the part of these rogue elements who claim to be motivated by a desire to foist on Nigeria their own perverted ideology.

    “They should be ashamed of their wickedness and desist forthwith from this meaningless waste of innocent lives and unwarranted shedding of the blood of Nigerians.

    “We are without any doubt whatsoever that the evil they have continued to perpetrate will find them out and they will be made to face justice soon.”

    Omobude appealed to federal and state governments to increase collaborations on security with a view to winning the terror war.

    He praised the Armed Forces for the courage to face the terrorists and called on them to “re-dedicate themselves to this cause and expedite action in ensuring the safe return of our girls.”

    While sympathising with parents and relations of the abducted girls, he urged them to remain strong, assuring them of continuous prayers for the safe return of their daughters.

    He commended Muslims who have spoken and acted against the sect’s demands, urging them to do “more in joining hands with all of us to checkmate this raging evil.”

  • Boko Haram: Abati denies Minister’s amnesty claim

    A sharp disagreement and confusion emerged on Saturday over the offer of amnesty by the Federal Government to members of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

    The Minister of Youth Development, Boni Haruna had on Thursday during a programme to mark the nation’s Democracy Day titled ‘A day with young leaders of Nigeria.’ announced that the President had offered amnesty to the insurgents in his determination to bring the ongoing violent attacks to an end.

    President Jonathan, who spoke at the occasion after Boni Haruna made the comment, did not make any reference to the Minister’s remarks.

    Haruna, at the function said: “President Goodluck Jonathan has also declared amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect. Series of integration programmes have been lined up for the members of the sect who would surrender their arms and embrace peace.”

    “Let me use this opportunity on behalf of the Federal Government, to call on the members of the Boko Haram sect to embrace the government’s gesture and key into the amnesty programme,” he stated

    But speaking with State House correspondents on Saturday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati maintained that the President did not offer amnesty to members of the sect.

    Stressing that he would not say anything about the ‘amnesty’ announcement, he said that he would rather refer Nigerians to the Democracy Day nationwide broadcast by the President where he never used the term “amnesty.”

    He said: “Let me refer you to the speech by the President. If you read the speech line by line, you will see that it contains the very message that the President wanted to put across and in that speech if you look at it I don’t think the President used amnesty, instead he spoke about those who are willing to renounce terrorism, those who are willing to embrace, opportunities have been created for them through the fact-finding committee, through the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolutions of Conflict in the North Eastern part of Nigeria.”

    “So I will refer you basically to the speech by the President,” Abati stated.

    On the murder of the Emir of Gwoza on Friday, he said: “The President got the news and he was sad about it because what it means is that  these terrorists who are threatening peace and stability in Nigeria, are desperate and they continue to show that desperation.”

    “But as the President made it clear in his democracy day broadcast, that was his main message to Nigerians, that at the end of the day it is the people of Nigeria that will prevail, no matter how desperate terrorists may be and that his government is determined to rid the country of terrorism.

    “And the support solidarity the cooperation, the expression of partnership that we are receiving from our neighboring countries, the whole of the West African sub-region, Africa and the entire world shows that this is the battle that the whole world is prepared to fight. So the days of peace as the President said in his speech is assured because this battle will not end until it is won and sustainable development is fully guaranteed,” he said.

    Speaking on the ECOWAS meeting that ended in Ghana at the weekend, Abati  said that the summit condemned the activities of terror in Nigeria.

  • Insecurity: Senegalese clerics in Aso Rock for prayer

    Towards ending the violent attacks of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram in Nigeria, some Senegalese clerics on Saturday prayed for President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
    The ten clerics were led to the State House, Abuja by Khalifah Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Inyass, the grandson of Late Shehu Tijani Ibrahim Inyass, the founder of the Tijjaniya sect, on the invitation of President Jonathan.

    They met for about an hour with the President at the First Lady’s Conference Room and offered prayers for an end to the security challenges facing Nigeria as well as peace and stability in the country.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, the Spokesman of the group, Ahmed Tijani Sanni Alwalu said that the clerics who were in Nigeria to attend the Maulud celebration of Ibrahim Inyass Gombe were invited to the villa by President Jonathan for spiritual support.

    According to him, it was a historic meeting since former Nigerian leaders like Yakubu Gowon and Late Aguiyi- Ironsi had also invited the sect to pray for the country in the past.

    He said: “It is a historic visit because it has been done by his father with the then President, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Gen. Aguyi Ironsi.  So, the history is repeating itself and we come for the Moulude of Ibrahim Inyass Gombe and on his way going home, the President requested for a courtesy visit and Shehu granted that.”

    “We put ourselves together all Muslims and non- Muslims, in peaceful co- existence prayers so that we can all fight this insecurity in this country.

    “The main purpose of coming here is part of the prayers for peace in this country,” he added

    Other clerics with him included Sheikh Muhammadul Makky Inyass, Sheikh Mansur Inyass, Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Inyass, Sheikl Bashir Inyass, Inyass Mustapha Inyass, Abdullahi Muhammad Maigemu, Sheikh Ibrahim Dahiru Bauchi, Aliyu Ibrahim, and Khalifah Shehu Nasiru Hamisu.

    Others present at the meeting were  the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, Chief of Staff to President, Brig- General Jones Arogbofa (rtd), Head of Service, Bukar Goni Aji; Minister of FCT, Bala Mohammed; Justice

  • Boko Haram kills emir, two others survive attack

    Boko Haram kills emir, two others survive attack

    The Emir of Gwoza,Borno State,Alhaji Idris Timta,was yesterday shot dead by suspected Boko Haram members in an ambush of three traditional rulers in the state.

    The Emir of Askira, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibn Muhammadu Askirama and Emir of Uba, Alhaji Ali Ibn Ismaila Mamza who were in the same car with Alhaji Timta escaped unhurt in the attack at Tashan Alade on the Biu Road.

    A policeman in the convoy was also shot by the insurgents but survived.

    Time was about 9 am.

    Northern governors were swift in condemning the development.

    They called it a declaration of war against the traditional institution.

    The traditional rulers were on their way to Biu to pick the Emir of the town so that they could all move in a convoy to Gombe State for the funeral of the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar, who died on Tuesday evening at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London.

    The Borno State Government confirmed the attack in a statement by the Secretary to the Sate Government,Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda.

    The late Emir of Gwoza ,according to a security source,had been earmarked for elimination by Boko Haram since April 13 when he openly castigated the sect for turning his domain into their main base and crippling economic activities of the area.

    He said: “It is sad to say that my people have been blocked from going to the market by the insurgents, who kill at will.

    “Even the food crops cultivated by them in the last farming season have ended up with the Boko Haram as the harvest were seized by the insurgents making life unbearable.

    “There is an urgent need for the security agents to intensify and change their tactics of operation to stop the mass killings in this area.

    “If care is not taken my people will completely flee the area to neighbouring states and countries for safety.”

    A security source said :”In spite of the security ring around the late Emir, the insurgents had been on the trail of him with several threats against his person.”

    “They did not like his audacity in spite of the fact that they were operating at his doorsteps. The statement of the Emir hurt the insurgents who waylaid his convoy on Friday while on his way for the burial of the Emir of Gombe.

    “We are suspecting that they might have acted on intelligence on the movement of the Emirs. This development has fueled internal collaboration with the insurgents.

    “You can see why the war against the insurgents is difficult in the North-East because you do not know who is working or not for Boko Haram.”

    The Borno SSG,speaking on the incident yesterday said: “ The late Emir of Gwoza had visited his counterpart, the Emir of Uba on Thursday and passed the night in Uba ahead of their planned trip on Friday.

    “ The two Emirs were this morning (yesterday), joined by the Emir of Askira. The trio drove in the same vehicle with the intention of going to Biu to be joined by their counterpart in Biu.

    “Unfortunately as they were driving in a convoy to Biu, they were ambushed by gun men around Tashan Alade, soon after passing Garkida.

    “The gunmen came after the convoy,specifically targeted the vehicle conveying the three Emirs and opened fire.

    “ The Emir of Gwoza was unfortunately killed by the attackers while the Emirs of Askira and Uba escaped unhurt. A policeman in the convoy was shot by the attackers but he survived the attack.”

    The late Emir was in the first class status following his recent elevation by Governor Kashim Shettima.

    The Borno State Government described him as “a great man who worked very hard to promote peace and progress in Gwoza.”

    It added: “ He was a pillar and one of the rallying points in Borno State. He visibly worked very hard in the search for peace in Gwoza since the insurgency began.

    “Borno State Government is terribly shocked by this incident. The Government prays that Allah admits the late Emir into Aljanna Firadaus and give family, members of the Gwoza Emirate Council, the people of Gwoza, the State Council of Chiefs and the entire people of Borno State the fortitude to bear this very traumatic loss especially at a time the state is still dealing with equally disturbing issues related with security challenges in the state.”

    The Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) yesterday described the killing of Emir of Gwoza Alhaji Idrisa Timta as irresponsible, callous, an affront and a declaration of war on the traditional institution.

    Chairman of the forum,Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, in a statement through his Chief Press Secretary,Mr. Israel Ebije, expressed shock that the attack came at a time the federal government had concluded plans to grant the Boko Haram sect amnesty.

    “This is indeed a sad development for us as a region and the nation at large. This is happening at a time we are all doing our very best to rescue our over 200 secondary school girls abducted by the Islamist terror group Boko Haram, from their school in Chibok, Borno state last month,” he said.

    “We are particularly sad and worried about these ugly developments. We are indeed sad over the killing of the Emir of Gwoza in the recent attack”.

    The Northern governors asked the leadership and entire members of the Boko Haram sect to embrace the amnesty offer promised by President Goodluck Jonathan,stressing that “dialogue remains the best option for resolving issues”.

    They urged Nigerians not to lose faith in the country’s capability to overcome its security challenges.

    Boko Haram had previously targetted some prominent traditional rulers in the North including the Shehu of Borno,Alhaji Umar Garbai el-Kanemi .

    The Shehu and the Deputy Governor of the State ,Alhaji Zannah Mustapha had , in July 2012, survived an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber outside the palace mosque in Maiduguri.

    The suicide bomber and four worshippers died in the attack soon after the Jumat prayers on July 13.

    About three weeks later, the Emir of Fika in nearby Yobe State,Alhaji Muhammed Abali Ibn Mohammed Idrisa was the target of a similar bomb attack at the Potiskum Central Mosque.

    Like the Shehu of Borno,the Emir escaped.His police orderly was however unlucky.He and the suicide bomber died in the blast.

    Profile of the late emir 

    Alhaji Shehu Mustapha Idrisa Timta was born in 1942 to the family of the late Chief of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrisa Timta.

    The late Emir was enrolled at the Muslim Elementary School, Gwoza in 1948 and later at Senior Primary School, Bama between 1952 and 1960.

    For his post-primary education,he was a student of the then Provincial Secondary School now Government College, Maiduguri between 1960 to 1964.

    He worked briefly as a teacher in Gwoza, before he got admission for a diploma programme in Sharia Law at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) ,Zaria .

    He got a Higher Diploma in the same course in 1972.

    Alhaji Mustapha Idrisa Timta worked in the then North – East judiciary in various capacities including Inspector of Area Courts and Principal Inspector of Area Courts before his appointment as the 3rd chief of Gwoza in October, 1981.

    He was elevated to a second class Emir in 1987 and due to his hard work and loyalty to Government, he was elevated as a 1st class Emir in January, 2014.

    The late Emir is survived by four wives, 28 children including Muhammad S. Timta, District Head of Hambagda; Isa S. Timta, Secretary of the Emirate Council; Lieutenant Abdulrazaq S. Timta of the Nigeria Army and Dr. Abubakar S. Timta.

    He is also survived by brothers including Alhaji Haruna Idrisa Timta, a former Head of Service, Borno state; Alhaji Adamu Idrisa Timta, a Permanent Secretary in the state; Alhaji Yusuf Timta, Secretary, Gwoza Local Government; and Alhaji Umar Timta of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Maiduguri

  • Embrace amnesty window, Northern govs urge Boko Haram

    Embrace amnesty window, Northern govs urge Boko Haram

    Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) yesterday applauded the initiative of President Goodluck Jonathan to grant amnesty to members of the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

    The Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, also called on insurgents to embrace peace.

    This was contained in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Israel A. Ebije.

    The statement said the  amnesty offer was a welcome idea.

    Aliyu, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Israel A. Ebije, assured that governors from the region were ready to cooperate with Federal Government to address the grievances of the insurgents, adding that steps would be taken to ensure that they are usefully re-integrated into the society.

    Describing Jonathan’s gesture as laudable, Aliyu noted that the amnesty would help restore peace and harmony in troubled areas of the country.

    He insisted that until members of the sect lay down their arms, development and growth of the region would remain a mirage.

    The NSGF Chair lamented that insecurity had increased fear, encouraged suspicion and put national development in the reverse gear, adding that the essence of nationhood can only be revived when lasting peace, reconciliation and political harmony is propagated and sustained.

    The forum then urged the Federal Government to remain focused in finding non–violent means in handling insurgency and ensuring that every window of opportunity needed to curb the surging violence is exploited.

  • Nigeria will survive Boko Haram, says Bishop

    Nigeria will survive Boko Haram, says Bishop

    President Goodluck Jonathan must remove corrupt officials and saboteurs in his administration if the fight against insurgency is to be won, the Bishop of Badagry, Anglican Communion, the  Rt. Rev Babatunde Adeyemi said yesterday.

    Delivering the Bishop’s Charge at the church’s First Session of the Fourth Synod, he said Nigeria will survive Boko Haram.

    “I believe we will survive Boko Haram. We only need to be strong in prayer and action. We encourage our president to be focused and courageous, trust in God, equip the security forces with the appropriate equipment, motivate them and remove the corrupt officials and saboteurs in government circles no matter how highly placed,” Adeyemi said.

    Speaking on the theme: “Restore us O God”, the Bishop said corrupt souls in government are the “boar destroying the vine,” adding that unless they repent and turn to God, restoration of peace and prosperity will be impossible

    On the abducted Chibok school girls, Bishop Adeyemi said every effort must be made to rescue them alive while Boko Haram leaders must be brought to book.

    “The God who rescued Shedrack, Meshack, Abednego and Daniel will help us rescue the children. They will be restored,” he said.

    Condemning Boko Haram’s sponsors who he said “prefer the reign of terror to peace”, the Bishop said government should not negotiate with the sect because “they are the devil’s agents”, adding that all Nigerians must reject terrorism.

    On next year’s general elections, Bishop Adeyemi urged politicians to play by the rules, warning against imposition of candidates.

    The Bishop blamed leaders for the challenges Nigeria is facing, saying: “All our leaders past, present – be it Hausa-Fulani, Igbo or Yoruba or Ijaw – have all contributed to the stunted growth of this country. Only a few can be exonerated.”

    On how to  preserve Nigeria’s unity, Adeyemi said: “We may return  to regional parliamentary system of government which is a form of restoration of what has been in the past. Let us not think of a breakup but a united Nigeria.”

    The Bishop urged Gov. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) to review downward the Lagos State University (LASU) fees which he said were increased “beyond the reach of the common man.”

    “I am also appealing to the governor to complete all ongoing projects especially the 10-lane Lagos-Badagry expressway. Badagry has been neglected for too long but through this government we have witnessed some developments,” he said.

    Speaking to newsmen at the event, the Diocesan Bishop of Egba West, the Rt. Rev. Samuel Ogundeji urged Nigerians to continue praying for the abducted school girls.

    “Let is return to the Lord and not blame others. If those who are behind the abduction know their God and fear Him, they will not do what they have done. So let us pray for these girls, that God will release them, and pray for those that kidnapped them, for God to touch their hearts,” Ogundeji said.

    The Bishop of Awori Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. Johnson Akin Atere said: “There are so many ways we have died in this country and that is why we have these problems. We’re asking God to restore us back to the position where there was transparency in government, where people enjoyed living in Nigeria.

    “But what must happen before restoration is for us to repent of our sins, to ask God to forgive us, then surely, God will restore us back like he restored the people of Israel,” Bishop Atere said.

    The synod, which began on Thursday, will end today.