The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday, condemned the spate of insecurity in the country, and called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to, as a matter of urgency; take a decisive action to reverse the current ugly narrative.
President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who made the call while speaking at the meeting of the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the NLC, however, disclosed that as its contribution to the insecurity crisis in the country, the congress would soon organise a National Security Summit.
The National Administrative Council of NLC, led by Comrade Ayuba Wabba, met to address some pressing national issues; which include security, pension fund, casualisation, and minimum wage.
“We seem to have come full circle. And all segments of our society, including the National Assembly, are agreed that time has come for new thinking, new strategies and hard decisions.
“Accordingly, we urge Mr President to make decisive decisions to reverse the current ugly narrative! We must rein in now the desperate elements and disparate forces in the land that threaten to overwhelm us. Time is of essence. In all of this and on all fronts, there is one recurring question, ‘where did we go wrong?’”
Wabba pointed out that one of the cardinal campaign promises that brought to power President Buhari in 2015 was his assurance to restore security to a traumatized people and a nation torn by strife, especially, the insurgency in the North-East.
He acknowledged the efforts of the present administration to address the issue of insecurity, but regretted that recently, loads of commuters were either being abducted or slaughtered.
The NLC president said: “However, of recent, and on a sustainable basis, the Boko Haram insurgents have been hitting soft and military targets on a scale and regularity that makes one wonder if the gains of the past have not been reversed or wiped out.
“For example, at a stage, all the access roads leading to Maiduguri were taken over by the insurgents often dressed in military fatigues. Bus loads of commuters were either abducted or slaughtered. From their fall-back positions, the insurgents seized the initiative by unleashing terror and mayhem on our military and civil populace.
“In a triumphal act of devious ingenuity, they yanked off Maiduguri and its environs from the national grid, plunging the place not only into darkness but causing a major disruption”, the NLC argued.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has appealed to the United States of America to speed up the delivery of the acquired A-29 Super Tucano aircraft for efficient military operations in the country.
The Minister of Defence, Maj-Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd), stated this when he played host to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Berth Leonard in Abuja, yesterday.
He commended the US government in her continued support to Nigeria in the areas of health care and military operations.
According to him, “Nigeria has benefited from the US in providing equipment for the Nigerian Air Force, activation of the Charlie 130, supplying of aircraft spare parts, training, educational and numerous health programmes”.
In her response, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Berth Leonard, assured that America would continue to collaborate with Nigeria to combat the insecurity posed by the Boko Haram and other terror groups operating in the country.
She said that, “the Pentagon is always ready to collaborate with Nigeria in combating insecurity, conflict management and precision in addressing human concerns”.
The ambassador, however, tasked the Nigerian military to maintain professionalism by protecting human rights in their operations.
On his part, the American Defence Attache, Col Andrew Clark, requested for a regular joint military-strategic meeting between the US and the Nigerian military.
He said this would help in effective coordination of military activities in Nigeria.
In another development, following the call by the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe for President Muhammadu Buhari to step aside over the increasing level of insecurity in the country, many more Nigerians have joined in the clarion call.
Some concerned Nigerians, made their position known in separate interviews, yesterday.
Speaking, the National President of the Association of South-East Indigenous Town Unions (ASETU), Chief Emeka Diwe, said no right thinking Nigerian, no matter party affiliation, will cover up with the country’s security ills.
Diwe, a human rights activist, regretted that the wind of change as professed by Mr. President during his campaign has blown more trouble to the nation.
He stated categorically that the President has failed, particularly to tackle the issue of insecurity, which, according to him, has become a menace ravaging the country.
In the same vein, he said all service chiefs serving under Mr. President are ‘unserviceable service chiefs’ who are only carrying out the directives of their paymaster, hence, should also be shown the way out.
“If President Muhammadu Buhari wants the insecurity to stop in Nigeria, he must call the Fulani herders to order because they are the root cause of insecurity in the country”, he added.
He saluted the gallantry of the senator representing Abia South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, counting him as among the very few Igbos who have so far exhibited rare legislative quality.
Meanwhile, he has described the call as one which every Nigerian should support, insisting that Mr. President’s resignation will save the nation a great deal.
Also, the Chairman of Action Alliance in Imo State, Hon. Anthony Ahaneku, expressed worry at the height of insecurity currently witnessed in the country.
Although, he admitted that the state Action Alliance party has a robust relationship with the President but that, according to him, it is not enough to keep mum when things are going the wrong way.
Ahaneku said that the current security situation in the country was one that everyone should be concerned about.
The AA boss noted that it was in the light of the foregoing that the Presidency vehemently kicked against the ‘Operation Amotekun’ in the South-West and ‘MASSOB/IPOB’ in the South-East.
He alleged that a handful of praise singers of the president were feeding fat from the country’s current state of unrest.
In his reaction, the Imo State Chairman of Maja Party, Hon. Reuben Obijiaku, condemned Mr. President’s ‘I don’t care’ attitude towards insecurity, accusing him of using ‘double standards’ since his coming on board in 2015.
Obijiaku said that until the President resigns honourably, the country would continue to battle with many security issues.
Also speaking, the special adviser to immediate past governor of Imo State on Research, Hon. Ogubundu Nwadike, claimed that a lot has been said about the President’s lackadaisical attitude towards the safety of Nigerians.
To this end, he advised the President to take the path of honour and resign, as many Nigerians, according to him, have no more confidence in his government.
The SA described the killings of Nigerians on a daily basis as barbaric, saying that this has, indeed, given a bad image to the country before the international community.
In his reaction, a social media influencer and the Director General of Hope Uzodinma’s Official New Media, Mbazuwigwe David Asikaogu, described the call as hate speech, asking that the senator be called to order.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari should not be blamed for the country’s insecurity, maintaining that insecurity was part of the ills inherited from past administrations.
Asikaogu further accused the callers of the President’s resignation of acting in defense of their principals who have failed to see anything good in APC administration.