Zeenews Bureau
Kaduna: Former military governor of Kaduna State, Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, on Saturday said that radical Islamist sect Boko Haram will not be able to disintegrate Nigeria.
In a statement, Umar noted that Boko Haram aimed at pitting Nigerians against each other, causing confusion and hatred among the citizens of the African country.
“Yet, whatever it is the Boko Haram want to achieve or create, one thing they seem to be doing rather well now is setting the various groups in Nigeria against the other. One day, Boko Haram say they are killing Christians because Christians are killing Muslims; another day, they say they will drive southerners out of the North because southerners are sending northerners out of the South; yet another day, Boko Haram would say they are fighting the government because government leaders and agents are corrupt and unjust, etc. After that, they will stand aside and watch with glee as the different groups engage each other in mutual blame and recrimination.”
"Boko Haram’s tactics of putting pressure and exploding bombs would not break up Nigeria," said Umar.
He further urged Nigerians, including religious and regional leaders, to unite and expose the perpetrators of bombings and killings across the country.
“We will say this openly and frankly and without fear of contradiction that given the spread and depth of our integration as a people, it is futile to expect the Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba or any ethnic group to relocate easily or peacefully to their ancestral lands, even if Nigeria were broken up. It is not time alone; many things in nature are not reversible. And we should never forget that decisions taken in moments such as this that shape our destiny.”
“Boko Haram’s ambition of creating a climate of fear, terror and panic ahead of their plan to re-invent Nigeria seems close to reality. A visitor to some of the major cities in northern Nigeria - Kano, Bauchi, Maiduguri, Kaduna, etc - would be forgiven to conclude that Nigeria is at war.”
“Despite all these, what is clear and what we all see is that Boko Haram remains on the offensive and their bombs do not discriminate between friends and foes, notwithstanding their propaganda. In the face of the generalised climate of fear, apprehensions and mistrust, people respond in ways that are neither calm nor measured, precisely the type of reaction that pleases Boko Haram. This has to change. People of goodwill everywhere must beware of the nature of the problems we are facing and should say or do nothing that would help the aggressor.”
First Published: Sunday, February 05, 2012, 10:01