Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed his sympathy for the victims of the bombings of the Nyanya Bus Park, in the suburbs of Abuja today, which left scores dead and many injured.
In a statement from his media office in Abuja, Atiku also queried the sincerity in the claim by the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, not long ago, that terrorists, represented by Boko Haram, have been driven out of the main centres of Nigerian.
The former Vice President, who called on well-meaning Nigerians in and around the Federal Capital Territory to heed the call of National Blood Transfusion Centre (NBTC) by voluntarily donating blood at the National Hospital Abuja to save the lives of Nyanya blast survivors said that this needless blood-letting should not be allowed to continue unabated.
Atiku recalled that government had in February this year, spoken about its successes in pushing Boko Haram to the “fringes” of the North East, where a state of emergency currently exists in a number of states, and where the Boko Haram terrorist group has carried out many recent and deadly attacks.
He noted that today’s bombing in the Nyanya motor park has cast doubts on the claims of containing the crisis to the fringes of the country.
He said that today’s bombing and latest bombings by insurgents should be a wake-up call to all Nigerians on the imperative of ending the trade-blame game and working together to end this scourge.
“As a country, we are not doing enough of focusing on and implementing solutions. We are all guilty of expending endless energy on hand wringing and the trading of blame, none of which is able to save lives or change the status quo.”
He insisted that the continued attacks by the insurgents requires new strategies, even as he described those behind the bombings as evil and callous and that they have scant regard for the sanctity of human life.
“There is an urgent need for the government of Nigeria to review its methods and strategies for dealing with terrorism.”
He called for a step up in intelligence, listening posts, picking up trends and conversations with a view to pre-empting terrorist attacks.
The former Vice President suggested that Nigeria should accept foreign assistance with fighting terrorism in the country.
Home FEATURES Atiku Sympathizes With Victims Of Nyanya, Abuja Bomb Explosion, Queries Government’s sincerity...
I don’t agree with you mr. Atiku, on accepting foreign assistance because it will further worsening the situation rather than solving it. How has foreign assistance reduced bombing in countries like, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, DRC amongst others. Those countries we are seeking their assistance are the one supplying the insurgent weapons secretly. This can be confirmed in Jonathan’s speech at the recent EU Africa Summit where he asked: “where do they get these sophisticated weapons
from?” This means accepting assistance from these countries is a receipt for direct arms flow to the insurgents in guise of assistance.