The Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday lambasted the Federal Government’s response to the recent multiple terror attacks in the country, saying that the global standard is that whenever a government fails in dispensing its primary function of protecting lives and property, such a government must resign.
The party added that the panicky measures, including the closure of schools, portrayed the government as lacking the capacity to provide security for its citizenry.
The PDP cited the spate of kidnapping in different states, especially in the last three weeks, such as the taking of 25 students in Kebbi State and another 315 students and staff in Niger State in Northern Nigeria, leaving “a trail of sorrows, tears, blood, fear, and deep anguish on the families of those affected and their communities.”
However, the party said rather than developing a comprehensive approach to terrorism, the government had been busy experimenting with quick measures it said would never address the problem.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr ini Ememobong Essien, speaking on the PDP’s position in Abuja on Sunday, advised the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government to either seek urgent help or resign if it was incapable of finding solutions to insecurity.
“We again remind the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the entire APC-led administration that the security of lives and property is the primary function of any government.
“At any time, a government is unwilling, unable, or incapable of executing this primary role; such a government must either ask for help (locally or internationally) or honorably resign, if it is sincere and responsible,” the party demanded.
According to the PDP, the “quick-fix” approach, such as the closure of schools, apart from becoming counterproductive in the long run, also portrayed the government as completely surrendering the country to terrorists.
The party argued that the North, being the most backward educationally in the country, would only suffer more because the academic calendar would not wait for the students who had been forced to remain at home.
The spokesman stated further, “We are aware that the closure of schools in these areas is already being implemented by some state governments and is currently being contemplated by the Federal Government.
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We warn that this closure, if undertaken, like many of this administration’s quick-fix approaches to serious governance issues, will amount to a complete surrender to terrorists, whose sole aim is to shut down schools and prevent children from obtaining formal education, which they declare forbidden. If the schools are closed, the goal of the terrorists would have been inadvertently achieved.
“Rather, we urge the government to develop a comprehensive plan to combat the issue, instead of resorting to a simplistic approach of closing schools in a bid to prevent further kidnappings and to score cheap political points, quite characteristic of this administration.
“This alarm is crucial because a closure of schools will certainly exacerbate the already challenging educational situation in Northern Nigeria, where, according to UNICEF, the majority of the 18.3 million out-of-school children (10.2 million at the primary level and 8.1 million at the secondary level) in Nigeria reside.
“This data not only paints a grim picture but also mirrors the exact situation in Nigeria. The series of attacks and kidnappings in different states within a week, is indicative of the alarming insecurity that has become the contemporary lived experience and new reality of Nigerians under the APC-led Bola Tinubu government.”
It described as “troubling”, “lacklustre” and “unempathetic”, the administration’s response to security incidents, further calling into question whether it placed much premium on the lives of Nigerians.
“For example, instead of the President visiting Kebbi and Niger States to meet and sympathise with the parents of the children who are in captivity, and to address the security personnel there, he merely directed the Minister of State for Defence, to relocate to Kebbi.
“A juxtaposition of the contingents sent to the US Congress and the G-20 meeting with Matawalle’s lone envoy exposes the levity with which the presidency treats this matter. This reaction is most insensitive and dismissive of the gravity of the problem by the APC-led Federal Government”, the opposition party added.
The PDP called on the federal government to immediately fund and implement the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools “anchored on community intelligence and quick security response, capable of anticipating and contending with attacks on schools.”
Insecurity in schools will be a big disincentivisation for education in the country, especially in Northern Nigeria.”
The country’s security challenges have been spiking amid a recent categorisation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the United States and the allegation of genocide targeted at Nigerian Christians, as amplified by President Donald Trump.
The US had also offered to intervene by deploying its military might in Nigeria to take out terrorists and other armed gangs posing threats to security in the country.
The federal government reacted by clarifying that Christians were not being specifically targeted, but rather that Nigeria was confronting a complicated security situation that required a more dynamic approach than reducing it to genocide against a particular faith.
Recall that Tinubu dispatched a delegation led by the National Security Advisor (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu, to the US to engage the government and place the complexities of the Nigerian situation on the table for elaborate discussions.
