By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North
President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, blamed saboteurs and other external forces over the Federal Government’s inability to crush Boko Haram insurgents in the North East geopolitical zone of the country.
Over 5,000 Nigerians have been killed since the insurgents began their campaign to make the country an Islamic state over four years ago.
However, Jonathan, spoke when a delegation of Nollywood stars under the aegis of “Creative Professionals” visited him at the Presidential Villa, pointing out that the frustration in crushing the insurgents was from internal and external realms.
The delegation was led by an actor, Segun Arinze.
The President did not state the names of the saboteurs or the institutions they belong to, even as he reiterated his resolve to end the vicious cycle of violence unleashed on the country by terrorists and other malevolent elements in the land.
His words: “One of our greatest challenges and I have to thank you for observing that one-minute of silence in their honour, is this security challenge.
“But we are working very hard, we have our frustrations, we have issues of sabotage: internal and external but we are working very hard and by the grace of God, we will overcome.”
The President last year said that the insurgents had moles everywhere including in government.
Beyond the security challenge, the president pointed out that Nigeria also needed serious effort to beef up its infrastructure to meet the needs of the nation and its citizens.
While promising to expand the horizon, he pleaded with the actors to call some politicians noted for generating negative issues to tone down their tirades in the interest of the nation.
Jonathan had in 2012 lamented that there were Boko Haram elements in his administration but did not say who they were and where in particular they were situated. The admission of the presence of Boko Haram sympa-thisers in the administration however drew flaks from Nigerians, who blamed the president for not naming the suspected saboteurs.
Also, the Federal Government had promised several times in the past of its determination to wipe out the insurgents in the country but had, furthermore, blamed some foreign powers for sabotaging its efforts to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents by refusing to sell arms and ammunition to Nigeria.
