 |
| President Goodluck Jonathan |
At two different forums at the weekend, President Goodluck
Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo assured Nigerians of a safer
nation in the New Year.
Jonathan, at a church service in Abuja, reiterated the
determination of his administration to effectively curtail terrorist attacks by
Boko Haram which has killed over 3,000 people since 2009.
On his part, Obasanjo, during a peace meeting among the four
sectional traditional rulers in Egbaland in Abeokuta, expressed optimism that
Nigeria would soon overcome all the security challenges currently confronting
it.
The president, in a remark at the church service at the
Ekklisiyar Yaruwa a Nigeria (EYN – Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), Utako,
Abuja, told the congregants that the Federal Government has not only changed
its strategy on the anti-terror war, it has also come up with fresh measures to
curtail attacks by the Islamic sect.
He said some of the fresh measures had started yielding the
desired dividends, adding that the government would do everything possible to
ensure that the activities of the Boko Haram do not cause inertia in governance
in the New Year.
“Boko Haram planned to carry out a lot of attacks on
Christmas Day, but we suppressed their plans during the Christmas holiday and
most of their plans were not executed because of the strategies put in place by
the security agencies, which aborted their efforts.
“Although we still recorded some incidents, but the extent
of attacks which they had planned, we did not allow them to execute them.
“Boko Haram will not push us backwards. If their plans were
to stop government from providing the dividends of democracy, they would not
succeed because 2013 will be a good year for Nigerians and Nigeria.
“With your persistent prayer we shall defeat them,” he said.
The president expressed appreciation to the clergy and
congregation of the EYN nationwide for keeping the faith and remaining calm
even in the face of provocation.
Earlier, the pastor of the church, Rev. Daniel Mbaya, had
said the church had been severely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency,
especially in the North-east where it has many branches and worshippers.
He explained that 109 worshippers from the church were
killed in various attacks by the sect and about 50 branches were burnt under
similar circumstances.
He thanked the president for coming to worship in the
church, saying it is a demonstration that the country is blessed with a caring,
loving and concerned leader.
The president was at the service with his mother, Mrs Ayi
Jonathan; his Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe; the Executive Secretary,
Christians Pilgrims Board, John Kennedy-Opara; Senator Philip Aduda and some
presidential aides.
Speaking on the same theme, Obasanjo said Nigeria was never
a cursed nation and had the potential to overcome its challenges, whether in
terms of security or in the socio-economic sector.
He therefore urged the citizens to exercise patience and be
dedicated towards making the nation great.
According to him, God has been kind to the country in terms
of natural resources, just as he lamented the failure of the country’s
leadership to harness the economic potential towards the nation’s greatness.
He said: “The first thing God did that surprised us most was
that He dropped two big rivers down to confluence Nigeria. He then later used
gold, bauxite and so many limestone in abundance to beautify everywhere in the
country. He then later dropped oil under our soil near the water and later in
the water.
“I believe there are good people who will be able to manage
it, maybe later. But the earlier we are there, the better and I am sure we will
be there. We will be there because God has been kind to us; we only need to be
kind to ourselves and God will help us.”
No comments:
Post a Comment