By AbdulRaheem Aodu and Ojo Sola Olusegun, Kaduna
Northern Governors Forum yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to declare total war against the Boko Haram insurgents saying they are no more terrorists but rebels that need to be crushed before the 2015 general elections to enable the country enjoy peaceful election.
Governor of Niger state and Chairman Northern States Governors Forum, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, made the call during the commissioning of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation Office in Kaduna. According to Governor Aliyu, Northern states are bedevilled with insecurity and poverty which require the leaders to come together irrespective of party affiliations to address objectively for the region to progress.
He said: “We must as leaders all come together on bipartisan or non-partisan basis no matter our religion, ethnicity, ideas, and political differences, to encourage Mr. President and the federal government to declare total war on Boko Haram and eliminate Boko Haram in our midst before the 2015 elections.
“They are no more terrorists but rebels who have declared war against their country and have acquired illegal territories. We must therefore crush them. If being proactive, we have been doing that. But to declare total war is in the hands of federal government and President. Boko Haram is no more terrorists as it affect all of us. It is not the issue of APC or PDP; we need to put our heads together.”
Meanwhile, Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna state has called on the other 18 northern states’ governors to initiate a harmonised development plan that will ensure rapid economic and infrastructural development of the region.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation head office yesterday in Kaduna, he said the time had come for the entire North to reflect on the times of the late Premier of the Northern Region and react by introducing policies and programmes that would directly touch on the citizenry.
He wondered how the North had retrogressed since the demise of the late Sardauna saying that “we keep talking about the legacies of Sardauna, but we are yet to act like him. What happened to the North since his demise? Is it lack of leadership or followership?
He said: “Let me suggest the adoption of a common development plan for the entire region. It is time for us to revisit the development model of the late Sardauna, which has the entire North as a single entity. Such plan can be gradually implemented through selection of some key sectors.”