The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has strongly condemned
Monday’s suicide bombing in Kano in which innocent citizens were killed
and maimed, saying it is time for all stakeholders in the country to act
decisively to stem an impending national catastrophe.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said it is now futile to expect that
the federal government can end the crisis, as it has so far shown that
it possesses neither the vision nor the capacity to confront the
worsening acts of terrorism in the country.
”As we commiserate with the victims of this senseless act and their
families, we will like to say that this is the time for sober reflection
and restraint, and that all leaders of thought must
urgently come together, formally or informally, to avert a national
calamity that will not spare anyone, whether or not they are members of
the Boko Haram sect,” it said.
ACN said all religious, ethnic and political leaders must start by
preaching restraint in their domains, since it is now clear that the
end-gamers behind these senseless killings are bent on setting Nigerians against themselves.
”There are two kinds of war that a nation can hardly survive:
religious and ethnic war. A combination of both can only spell doom for
any nation, hence we must move today to prevent our nation from being
plunged into religious and ethnic war, which seems to be the intention
of the anarchists behind the worsening orgy of killings in our country.
”We also call on our leaders at all levels to exercise caution in
their statements, so as not to incite one group against the other. This
is because we have heard the drums of war being beaten by some easily
excitable leaders, at a time that requires utmost restraint,” the party
said.
ACN noted, with gross disappointment, that the recent escalation in
the senseless attacks in the north follows the unstatesman-like display
by President Goodluck Jonathan when he paid a belated visit to the
states that have now become the epicentre of the Boko Haram crisis.
”We have said this before and we hereby repeat it. The President’s
display of anger, instead of temperance, at his testy meeting with the
community leaders during his visit, is like
pouring petrol on a naked fire. It will definitely result in conflagration, the type of which we are now witnessing.
”The President, forgetting that he is the father of the nation, chose
to talk down on people who are themselves victims of the Boko Haram
violence as anyone else. Where soothing words were required, he chose to
inflame passion with unnecessary vituperation. Here we are!
”We have also warned, as many are now doing, that it is time for the
government to explore other options, including engagement, instead of
the outright use of force, in ending the
crisis. This is because the use of force in itself has never
conclusively resolved any crisis. Even parties that have gone to war
must still come back and talk! It is not too late to change tactics,
unless some folks are benefitting from these senseless killings,” the
party said.
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