Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has challenged northern Nigerian elders to speak out against the endemic insecurity in the region as they did during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Dogara, who spoke in Lafia, Nasarawa state at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,campaign Thursday, pointed out that their silence on insecurity in the region could be taken as a tacit support of the poor management of security in the country, especially in the north; a situation, he said, that continues to threaten the nation’s democracy as well as the very foundations of the country.
He condemned those whom he described as“sycophants” who elevate some public office holders to the status of God, noting that by so doing, “they bring destruction upon the country.”
The Speaker enjoined Nigerians to rise up and rescue the country from the clutches of insecurity.
In a statement issued by the Senior Adviser to the Speaker, Turaki Hassan, he said; “Just like my last speech to Nigerians that were gathered in a rally like this in Gombe, I said that the 2019 general elections is not about President Muhammadu Buhari, it’s not about Atiku Abubakar, but I said it is about you who are gathered here and it will be a referendum on insecurity and hunger in this land.
“On the issue of insecurity, all of us know what is happening in Borno and, unfortunately too, between Abuja and Kaduna, as well as in Zamfara, Katsina, Nassarawa, Benue, Plateau and even Sokoto States.
“Now, I cannot even mention all because it is a general problem in the county, but I was highlighting the states where the problem is more endemic as of now. The issue is this, when this thing was going on under Jonathan, we had Borno elders always speaking. Where are the Borno elders now? Where are the leaders of Northern Nigeria now that this problem has become endemic? What are they saying now? Are we not guilty of what we allow? Are we not responsible for the killings by our inability to say that enough is enough and demand as of right that President Buhari puts an end to this or leave if he cant?
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The truth is that if we don’t rise up to the endemic challenges now, sooner than later, if things continue this way, we are not going to have a country. So it is our responsibility to rescue Nigeria from the clutches of insecurity. Without security; we would not have a meaningful democracy.
“The sad reality in Nigeria is that by our silence we have condoned those who have been unable to effectively tackle the insecurity in the nation. We have wittingly become enablers of evil. You know what enablers do? Enablers don’t build a country only courageous people do. What enablers do is that they instigate the worship of individuals and the office they occupy; they will confuse such an individual with accolades. You know none of us was built to receive worship; anyone who attempts to receive worship will meet destruction in his wake. So that is why we are witnessing destruction in Nigeria, because we have elevated some human beings to the status of God. We now need to rise up and rescue our country from the clutches of insecurity.”
Dogara also accused the federal government of not giving education the attention it deserved as evidenced by the lacklustre way it is handling the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
“By allowing schools to shut down under the name of strike, this government has thrown teeming Nigerian youths into idleness and slowing down their progress.
“It’s been said that if you want to destroy a community, state or nation, don’t even fire shots or bring the crisis that is being perpetrated by Boko Haram, don’t even bring nuclear bomb, all you need to do is to lower the standard of education in that Community, state, or nation. Once you succeed in doing that, you’ve killed the nation.”
