Southern Mandate group cautions Boko Haram

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

A PRESSURE group, the Southern Mandate said, yesterday, that the sustained explosions by Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in the northern part of the country were targeted at discrediting the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and urged the sponsors of the sect to stop forthwith in order not to plunge Nigeria into disintegration.

The group in a statement signed by its President-General and South/South Coordinator, Tito Zuokumor and Dr. Wilson Omene, respectively said, “we foresee that there are no two ways about it – the consequence of Boko Haram’s present activities is the disintegration of our dear country in the near future.

“In the circumstances, we wonder why some Nigerians could still regard Boko Haram as an enemy only to President Jonathan and his government. However, it is time to tell ourselves the bitter truth: the earlier all Nigerians from the North and South realize and confront Boko Haram as a common enemy, the better for the unity of Nigeria.”

The group condemned those who blame President Jonathan for the prevailing insecurity without considering the attendant result of sitting on the fence and allowing sectional violence as a tool to score political goals, with which some political figures have been identified.

It said: “Let the truth be told that there is no region or ethnic nationality in Nigeria that is weak. The West, East and South-South all have the capacity to create a similar scenario of deliberate insecurity in their zones to make any administration ungovernable just to score political points.

“And if such acts of artificial insecurity are perpetrated by a group or groups of persons from a part of the country without resolvable aims and objectives other than to waste innocent lives just to deny a particular region the right to attain the presidency or complete the constitutionally stipulated tenure of office, then we have got to check ourselves, apply restraint in whatever we do, and not acting with impunity as is presently the case with some self-seeking politicians fuelling the Boko Haram activities. Otherwise, we are all heading for the doomsday.

“We are all not unaware of the political aim of Boko Haram, but we fail to see beyond the kite which the group and their sponsors are flying in the air and progressively piloting us to disintegration.”

The Southern Mandate added that “the serial bomb explosions and death of innocent Nigerians are receiving applause from certain quarters today because those behind the barbaric acts believe they are winning the battle against Dr. Jonathan’s presidency, unmindful of the fact that they are laying landmines for the nation’s disintegration.

“The determination of a few selfish individuals seeking the highest political office to “do everything possible, whether good, bad or terrible to unseat President Jonathan” for fear of becoming too old to occupy the presidency if Dr. Jonathan is allowed to remain in office for two terms, must be stopped”.

The group urged all good-spirited Nigerians to support the Federal Government in tackling the present menace to avoid similar bombs exploding from other parts of the country tomorrow.

It claimed that Nigeria’s unity was being preserved by the petro-dollars from crude oil in the Niger Delta region and that the people of that region had borne the brunt of oil production for several decades in the interest of the entire nation.

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