"MAIN OBJECTIVE OF TERRORISTS IN NORTHERN MALI IS TO UNSETTLE NIGERIA" .... Federal Govt of Nigeria

The main objective of the terrorists currently operating in northern part of Mali is to unsettle Nigeria, the Federal Government said on Thursday.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru, made the remark on Thursday while speaking at the ongoing African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Defending the deployment of Nigerian troops in Mali, he said that the government is prepared to do all within its power to contain the terrorists’ ambition and ensure the survival of Nigeria.
He said: “The events in Mali, if we don’t quickly stop it, it will have effect on the whole of West Africa and Nigeria is their prime target. So, we need to act quickly and forcefully in Mali to stop them. We need to contain them, to destroy their capability to be able to launch any counter offensive within the sub region.
“When you compare our intervention in Sierra Leone, in Liberia to our intervention in Mali today, the intervention in Mali today is to ensure the survival of Nigeria. The intervention in Sierra Leone and Liberia was to enthrone democracy, rule of law and good order.
“Those two places, the campaign there did not have any security impact directly on Nigeria as such. It is just that we wanted peace in the sub region to ensure refugees did not flood to Nigeria. Even with that, they still came to Nigeria because we had lots that still came to Nigeria. So, these are part of the problems you see.
“But for Mali, our intervention is borne out of our own national interest, the survival of our own country because terrorists know no boundary. They have no boundary. They move anywhere. Once they are able to cause instability in that area, they move there and the ultimate prize is to destabilize the country.
“So, our intervention in Mali must be seen in that context, that is to ensure the survival of our country. It is to ensure that we contain the terrorists from spreading from northern Mali to come southwards,” he added.
Commending France for taking the initiative to intervene, he said that Africans must now take charge henceforth to “ensure that we safeguard the territorial integrity of Mali and to make sure that we are able to stop the terrorists from advancing further because they are a threat, not just to Mali but to Nigeria and all countries in the sub region.”