GOOD MORNING MR PRESIDENT, HOW ARE YOU AND HOW WAS YOUR NIGHT? : In Show of Strength, Jonathan Spends the Night in Borno

President Goodluck Jonathan (r) with the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, waving to the crowd at the Maiduguri International Airport, shortly after his arrival on a two-day working visit to Yobe and Borno States... Thursday

•  Says no amnesty for Boko Haram now
•  Niger Delta monarchs, lawmaker attack sultan

By Muhammad Bello, Michael Olugbode, Seriki Adinoyi and Ibrahim Shuaibu

In a show of strength, President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday defied the prospect of a terror attack coinciding with his visit to Borno and Yobe States, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, by spending the night in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

He also seized on the occasion of his historic visit to both states to respond to the clamour from northerners for a full pardon for members of the terrorist group. 

Jonathan, who arrived in Maiduguri, from where he was ferried to Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, in a helicopter, at a town hall meeting with traditional rulers and opinion leaders, ruled out amnesty for now for Boko Haram members, who have killed well over 3,000 people since 2009 when they began their terror campaign.

He said inasmuch as his administration was desirous of ending the state of insecurity foisted on the nation by Boko Haram, it was not ready to give official pardon to “ghosts”.

As if to buttress his point, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members killed another eight persons in Shekar-Madaki in the suburb of Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State.

However, the clamour for amnesty for the Boko Haram members, championed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and a committee set up by the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), has continued to draw flak from other interest groups in the country.

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon Bitrus Kaze, representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency of Plateau State and two traditional rulers from the Niger Delta rejected the sultan’s proposal advocating amnesty for the insurgents.

The president told the gathering in Damaturu that the Federal Government would not consider amnesty for the insurgents until they come out from the shadows.

“We cannot talk about amnesty with the Boko Haram now until you see the people you are dealing with.

“Some people are comparing Boko Haram with the Niger Delta. But in the Niger Delta if you call them (militants), they will come out. But the Boko Haram members don't and we can't grant amnesty to ghosts,” he said.

The president insisted that there was a need for a one-on-one interface between representatives of the government and the leadership of the terror group.

On the controversy trailing what has been perceived as his belated visit to the terror-stricken region, the president said the delay was not deliberate.

Observing that he had promptly visited other areas attacked by the sect such as Madalla, Kano, the United Nations building and the police headquarters in Abuja, the president attributed his late visit to the North-east to official exigencies.

Reassuring the people that the delay in visiting the state earlier than now should not be construed as discrimination against the people of the area, he explained that whatever affects the people in the North-east affects the entire country.

“There is no way a president, whether it is President Jonathan or any other president, will neglect such critical obligations,” he said.

In a veiled reference to the visit of opposition governors under the aegis of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Maiduguri on February 28, the president appealed that the issue should not be politicised.

At the town hall meeting, the people called on Jonathan to immediately initiate a Marshall plan for the reconstruction of the infrastructure destroyed because of the Boko Haram crisis and facilitate the rehabilitation of the people.

In his contribution, a former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, said though it was difficult five years ago for him and others to envisage a crisis of this magnitude in the once peaceful state, it was high time to tackle the crisis squarely.

He said the Federal Government should tackle agriculture, education and health with more determination, as these would lead to the economic emancipation of the North that would help in checking the security crisis that it is now engulfed in.

The elder statesman, who later invited a prominent leader in the state, Air Commodore Ibrahim Alkali, to read out the position of the elders of the state, also called on the Federal Government to do something urgently to start oil exploration at the Lake Chad Basin.

Alkali, who took the floor from Ciroma, said the Boko Haram crisis had festered in the region because of the dearth of education, lack of vocational skills and the neglect of agriculture.

Earlier, during a courtesy call on him before they went for the town hall meeting, the state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, said the Boko Haram insurgency had retarded development in the state and affected the service delivery of his government to the people.

He said prior to the security challenges, the state used to be adjudged one of the most peaceful states in the country, as the people of the state were known for their hospitality and affection towards strangers and co-existed peacefully irrespective of ethnic, religious or political inclinations.

He appealed to the Federal Government to provide security personnel with high grade weapons and equipment as “hoodlums have access to deadly weapons and improvised explosive devices."

Listing the problems of the state since its inception as desert encroachment, rural poverty, youth unemployment and a massive infrastructure deficit, among others, Gaidam again harped on the security challenges on which he said the state had spent about N4.8 billion from 2009 to date.

At the end of his itinerary, which included a private meeting with traditional rulers, the president inaugurated the Yobe State University, whose library was named after him and the Gujba-Maiduguri Ring Road.

Jonathan, who was accompanied on the visit by the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim; National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd); Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, among others, flew back to Maiduguri in an air force helicopter at about 4.25 pm where he spent the night.

However, during his visit to the North-east on a confidence-building trip, unknown gunmen, suspected to be Boko Haram members, attacked and killed eight persons at Shekar-Madaki in the Kano metropolis.

The state Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Musa Daura, confirmed the killing to reporters Thursday, stating that the incident happened on February 23.

He said some people had been arrested and taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for investigation.

Sources said the police could not make the killing public earlier due to the change in the leadership of the state police command.

Meanwhile, the sultan came under more fire Thursday over his call on Jonathan to grant “total amnesty” to Boko Haram members, as a member of the House of Representatives condemned his suggestion.

Kaze, describing the proposal as weird, said: “Discerning minds now know better why Boko Haram terrorism has continued to thrive with reckless impunity; they have mentors in very high places.”

Also, two royal fathers in the Niger Delta – a former National President of the Traditional Rulers for Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON), Charles Ayemi-Botu, Pere of Siembiri Kingdom in Delta State and King Dodo II, Pere of Bilabiri Mien Kingdom, Bayelsa State – said they were shocked by the reasoning of the sultan.

The monarchs, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the Federal Government should declare a full-scale war on Boko Haram rather than granting amnesty to mysterious persons.