Boko Haram attacks: Atiku holds pressconference, says situation is grave

Former VP Atiku Abubakar who is from
Adamawa state, one of the worst hit by Boko
Haram, held a press conference today
November 3rd at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in
Abuja where he addressed the attacks of the
sect members on Mubi and other towns in
northern Nigeria. Atiku described the current
situation as grave and appealed to the
international community to come to Nigeria's
aid. Full text of his speech after the cut...
Gentlemen of the Press:
It is with deep regret that I came to learn that
Mubi, which is one the largest towns in
Adamawa State of northeast Nigeria, has been
taken by the terrorist group commonly known
as Boko Haram. As you may know, in recent
weeks and months, Mubi has been a town to
which displaced persons from further north
have fled for safety after their communities fell
to Boko Haram. As I speak, the inhabitants of
Mubi, together with those who went there for
safety, find themselves at the mercy of this
terrorist group.
I am Nigerian. I believe in the integrity of
Nigeria as a whole, and every part of this
country matters to me. But I was born and
bred in the northeast. So, please, excuse me
if I should say a few words about the part of
the country where I am from, about what the
people from the northeast of Nigeria have had
to suffer for far, far too long.
Things should never have got to this stage.
Thousands of Nigerians have had to flee their
homes. Their houses and farms have been
destroyed. They do not know where to go or
how to restart their lives. That is the degree
to which we have come in this country. I say
this with reluctance and with shame. The
situation in which we find ourselves today is
grave. Much of Borno, and the north of
Adamawa and Yobe states is already at the
mercy of the terrorists. It started a few
months ago with Bama, which is nearly 400
kilometres from Yola, capital of Adamawa
State.
The next major town to be taken by terrorists
was Gwoza, where a terrorist caliphate flag
has long been hoisted. Smaller towns near
Gwoza such as Pulka and Limankra are
equally not free. Next was Madagali. The
town is still being occupied. Then fell Gulak.
Next was Michika, then Bazza. Next was the
twin town of Uba which is half Adamawa and
half Bornu. Its neighboring town of Lassa was
also overrun. Uba was the latest town
captured before the terrorists trampled on
Mubi. People from these troubled areas are
now pouring into Yola for safety.
As somebody who hails from Adamawa State,
you can appreciate why I feel such emotion at
the fate of my people. For whatever reason,
our defence forces are unable to cope and
unable to defend. My sympathies go out to
the soldiers who find themselves in a situation
not of their making. This is a crisis of
leadership.
We were told that the budget for security was
going to be enlarged so that the security
agencies and military would be in a better
position to tackle the insurgency. How is it
possible that a great nation like Nigeria
should find itself in a situation where a
handful of terrorists is able to invade a town
as large as Mubi with a population of about
300,000? How were the insurgents able to so
easily take a town of this size, and the people
find themselves defenseless and undefended?
How is it that the people have been made to
suffer as they have?
I have previously spoken about the
deteriorating security situation in this country
on a number of occasions. On those occasions
I deliberately restrained myself from speaking
in a manner that might be construed as
distracting the government and the security
forces as they grappled with the dire security
situation. But the scale of injustice the people
of Nigeria are suffering has reached a stage
where I am obliged to amplify my concerns.
Many of our citizens, unable to come to terms
with why a so-called “Africa’s best army” has
been unable to confront this horrendous
situation, are increasingly assuming that this
whole thing is about electoral politics. They
suspect that the seeming inability of the
government to end the crisis is a ploy to
weaken some parts of the country ahead of the
2015 elections. Can we, in all honesty, blame
them for having those suspicions?
I call upon the international community to
help us. I am making a special appeal to
countries with sufficient knowhow and
experience in tackling terrorism to increase
their assistance to us.
The relief agencies that are already working
here should please double their efforts. And
all people of goodwill should help in any way
they can and to do more than they have been
doing to alleviate the pain and suffering that
we Nigerians face through this insurgency. At
a time when we are constantly bombarded
with horror stories of ugly events elsewhere in
the world – here in West Africa, we are faced
with the Ebola epidemic and other trouble
spots – I draw your attention to a
humanitarian crisis which is also a matter of
international security.
This Boko Haram insurgency has been with us
now for several years but has, in these last few
days, taken a step further towards being a
disaster of unimaginable proportions.
Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk.
Nigeria needs the world’s support. The world
must not abandon Nigerians in our time of
need.
Thank you.