By Samuel Ogidan
Abuja
Former National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Chairman, Board of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NCR), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday expressed bitterness over the bomb blast that killed 21 people in Abuja on Wednesday, saying that ‘dialogue is the answer to the insurgency in the country.”
Tukur, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, added that insurgents must be engaged in dialogue to save the people.
He noted that all the wars fought in the past ended up in dialogue, insisting that all the insurgencies both in the country and outside the country one way or the other will end up in dialogue.
He appealed to federal government to reach out to the neighbouring countries to address the problem of insurgency.
He said: “We are part of this nation, patriotism is very important, we see what is going on and people are being killed mercilessly. We should strengthen our defence. The security agencies are doing their own and we should do our own because security is the responsibility of everybody.
“We should equip our army, police and all the security agencies. We should dialogue with these people (insurgents). We should reach out to our neighbouring countries. Let us strengthen our defence.
“We must do all we can to ensure that our nation is safe. Wars that were fought in the past end up in dialogue. All the insurgencies one way or the other must end up in dialogue.”
Speaking on the build-up to 2015, the Chairman of NRC board, called on politicians to stop overheating the polity and that election is not a do-or-die affairs, adding that the people should be allowed to make their choice.
“There should be no imposition; election not selection; consensus not imposition. We must ensure we conduct peaceful elections. This is not the first election and it will not be the last election. Why can’t we improve on what we have done rather than make it worse. We should not overheat the polity.
“Opposition is normal, but should be issue based, it should not be fight, it should not be negative in nature. We do not want dictatorship.”
He, however, said he was going to reform the rail system in the country, like Japan and other advanced countries.