Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, says he wept in Borno State after beholding the gory sight of women and children wounded by Boko Haram insurgents in hospitals, describing the situation as pathetic.
Wakil spoke in an interview with reporters in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Regretting the devastation occasioned by the attacks on the people of the state by insurgents, Wakil said, “At the hospitals, I wept seeing the many injured victims of Boko Haram. From the general hospitals to the specialist hospitals, we saw the real victims of the insurgency- women, kids. The situation is pathetic.”
The Minister, however, said security agencies alone should not be left with the job of ensuring peace and tranquility in the country as it was the business of all.
“We must agree that security is everybody business. It is no longer about the Federal Government as many commentators often say. The anti- terror campaign is about states, religious institutions, traditional rulers, civil societies, professional groups alongside the security agencies”, he said.
“It will be unfair to blame President Goodluck Jonathan for the insurgency or for the lingering conflict. The Federal Government, with support of other stakeholders, has curtailed the insurgency to a large extent. Within Borno State, the insurgents are no longer able to attack hard targets; they now kill defenceless citizens. So, we should learn to be supportive of our servicemen and women.
“Whatever shortcoming we may notice in the anti -terror war, we should stand by our troops. We should criticize them constructively and avoid utterances and actions that are capable of thwarting their gallantry efforts.
“But one fact is also clear – terrorism is a global issue. We have a trans- national conflict at hand. Like I said earlier, Nigeria shall overcome. But we all must rally round Mr. President in this fight against terrorism.”
Commenting on poor power supply in the country, Wakil said, “I will answer your question by appealing to Nigerians to be patient with the administration. We are passing through a transition from public to private sector based electricity system.
We are undergoing fundamental, structural and transformation of the energy sector. We cannot pass this stage without hiccups here and there.
I plead with Nigerians to remember what happened in the telecommunications sector. It started roughly but today we have made great advances.”
via nigerianeye
0 comments:
Post a Comment