By Abdulrahman A. Abdulrauf
Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as “cowardly and incomprehensible” Thursday’s bombing at Nyanya in Abuja, and condemned the federal government for setting up a committee on Chibok missing girls 17 days after.
The party which said nothing in the world could justify the “mindless, senseless and barbaric killing of innocent people by a group of demented people masquerading as ideologues,” asked President Goodluck Jonathan to face the challenge head long rather than buck passing.
Interim National Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who stated this yesterday in a statement, also said the fact that the dead-enders could bomb the same area twice in as many weeks, was a challenge to Jonathan to provide much-needed leadership instead of shifting blames.
He said: ‘”That almost the same spot can be bombed twice in close proximity is the height of devilish audacity by those who perpetrated the evil act. But it is also a poke in the eye for the authorities, considering the closeness of the scene to the seat of power.
“’If these insurgents are gaining in strength and audacity, it is because President Jonathan has allowed them through failure of leadership. If these insurgents are back in Abuja after almost three years of their last attack in the city, it is because they have seen a soft target in a President who has failed to lead.”’
Mohammed said the time had come for the President and Commander-in-Chief to earn his epaulet by providing purposeful leadership at such a critical juncture in the history of the nation, rather than quietly egging on those who stupidly believe these insurgents are being sponsored by the opposition and some other ill-defined people to discredit the government.
He added: “It has been argued in certain quarters that the resurgent attacks and the shameless abduction of the over 200 school girls are aimed at discrediting the Jonathan Administration, especially ahead of this week’s World Economic Forum on Africa.
“What these evil theorists have forgotten, conveniently, is that the activities of the insurgents tar every Nigerian, whether in the ruling or opposition party, with same brush and that no Nigerian, ultimately, benefits from this barbarous insurgency.
“Therefore, Mr. President, rise above the fray and seize this moment in history to assert your leadership and stop whining about this insurgency. The buck stops on your desk, so stop pushing it to other people. If indeed you believe in the lies being peddled by your genuflecting and capricious party officials that the opposition is behind these attacks, what prevents you from ordering the arrest and prosecution of these sponsors if you have concrete evidence of their involvement?”
