SAN FRANCISCO, November 14, (THEWILL) – President Goodluck Jonathan Friday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, reassured that the Boko Haram insurgents would soon be flushed out of the North East with all the territories presently occupied by the terrorists totally liberated.
Speaking through his representative, Hon. Mohammed Wakil at the flag-off of the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), President Jonathan said the Federal Government would deploy all necessary resources to liberate all territories currently occupied by the insurgents.
Maintaining that the military is already mobilising human and material resources to reclaim all the lost territories and implement a Marshall Plan for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and redevelopment of the North East , the President said the Federal Government is determined to rout Boko Haram at all costs.
President Jonathan disclosed that the his administration had designed short, medium and long term solutions to the overall challenges of the region aside the ongoing military campaign.
According to the president, the non- military interventions already planned for the North East include the Presidential Initiatives for the North East headed by the National Security Adviser; the Presidential Committee on the Distribution of Relief Materials headed by the Nation Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director General, Mallam Sani Sidi; Victims Support Fund chaired by former Defence Minister, Lt General T.Y.Danjuma ; and Safe School Initiative coordinated by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.
The president, who noted that the interventions are not political gimmicks but genuine holistic response to the challenges facing the region, said:” It gives me great pleasure that the skill acquisition component of PINE is being flagged off today; 500 youths are to benefit directly from this empowerment scheme.”
While assuring that “PINE will be implemented fully with the full support of all stakeholders,” the president told the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) that “Our thoughts are with you; we share your pains; in fact, I weep with you all the time.”
In his remarks at the occasion, Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Abdul Bulama, noted that “these are trying times for us as a people when basics of our humanity is being tested by some evil elements among us.”
According to him, “ It is at times like these that we must demonstrate through our every action that good always triumphs over evil. We must reach out in true brotherhood to those affected by this insurgency. Let’s show them love and care at the time they need it most.”
He however warned that “We are in a dire situation as a people and we all cannot afford to play politics, let alone partisan politics, with the situation.”
According to Bulama, “We must all close ranks with a common resolve to rid our land of this strange trend of inhumanity, this we must all do in our various capacities as leaders, followers and stakeholders of the North-East region.”
He maintained that “The federal government has long realised that boots and guns alone cannot solve these problems in the Northeast.”
He stressed that “The underlying factors that have made the Northeast a fertile ground for this insurgency to thrive must ultimately be addressed holistically so as to stem the possibility of reoccurrence.”
Also speaking at the occasion, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who represented the Borno State governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, at the occasion, claimed he is one of the IDPs as his hometown, Gwoza, has been annexed by the insurgents.
He lamented that apart from NEMA which has impacted the lives of the displaced persons, other federal agencies established for such purpose are no where in sight.
Describing PINE as a lofty idea , he said it would only receive commendation of the Northeast when the current insurgency is stopped and the IDPs relocated back to their homelands.
Speaking earlier at the ceremony, Chairman of PINE, Prof. Soji Adelaja, , said that the Federal Government has fashioned both short and long term programmes of intervention to change the fortunes of the North East and assist the region to match toward prosperity.
According to him, PINE, in collaboration with Lintex, is building the required manpower for the Northeast through skill acquisition and training programme.
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