Leading opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, yesterday lambasted President Goodluck Jonathan over his “tactless show” during his recent visit to Borno and Yobe States.
According to the party, his action had compounded the Boko Haram mutiny, which subsequently killed and maimed many innocent Nigerians in the crisis-ridden region.
The party in a communiqué issued in Lagos on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and made available to DailyPost, said while the decision to grant amnesty to any person or group was the right of the government, the argument advanced by the President for denying amnesty to Boko Haram members was “as illogical as it was puerile”.
ACN said, “For a President who unwittingly stayed away from the beleaguered part of the country for too long, last week’s visit only succeeded in inflicting additional pain and insults on the victims of the insurgency, who had waited for a little dose of succour and empathy from their leader.
“There is no doubt that there has been an upsurge in attacks and killings since the President’s visit, with the clashes between the JTF and the insurgents leaving many dead; the drive-by shooting in Kano claiming the lives of innocent people; and the unfortunate killing of foreign hostages, who were abducted last month in Bauchi.
“If this upsurge can be used as a barometer to measure the success or otherwise of the President’s visit, then one can only reach one conclusion: the visit was a total failure!”
The statement further condemned the way the President “openly displayed anger, when what was needed was temperance”.
It added, “He talked down on the people, who have suffered so much in the hands of Boko Haram, at his town hall meetings.
“The misplaced anger of the nation’s number one citizen, who virtually tongue-lashed the prominent citizens, who spoke on behalf of their people at the town hall meeting, could only attract sympathy for the insurgents among the beleaguered population, thereby worsening the crisis.”
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