21042021

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021 — 5
POCKET CARTOON
COURTESY VISIT—NYSC Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim
(R) presenting a souvenir to the Chairman, Ned Nwoko Foundation, Prince
Ned Nwoko, during the latter’s visit to the NYSC National Directorate
headquarters in Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: NAN.
Agitators for secession
can't bully Buhari —PRESIDENCY
•Says, no need for any National Confab•’No criminal or
terrorist is bigger than Nigeria’•Agitation for separation
never this loud in previous administrations, PFN tells
Presidency•Secessionist groups only asking Buhari to
change his ways of governance – MBF•Change tactics,
Ohanaeze tells Presidency•History won’t be kind to present
govt, if.... - CAN
By Anayo Okoli, Ola Ajayi, Peter Duru,
Omeiza Ajayi & Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA — The
Presidency
yesterday
reacted to the growing
wave of secessionist
agitations in some parts
of the country, stating
that President
Muhammadu Buhari
can neither be
intimidated nor bullied
into giving in to the
threats of such agitators.
But the Pentecostal
Fellowship of Nigeria,
PFN, in a swift reaction,
said continued separatist
agitations by various
ethnic groups under
Buhari’s administration
had never been this
loud, compared with
previous administrations
that had governed the
country.
Similarly, the Middle
Belt Forum said
secessionist agitations in
the country were not
intended to bully or
intimidate President
Muhammadu Buhari,
but to ask him to change
his ways and style of
governance in order to
keep the country united.
However, describing
the secessionists as
mercantile agents who
were only out for
pecuniary gains, the
Presidency said
President Buhari will not
open the vaults to share
free money to anyone.
Senior Special
Assistant to the
President on Media and
Publicity, Mallam Garba
Shehu, stated
government’s position
yesterday in Abuja while
giving a scorecard of the
Buhari administration at
an event organised by
the All Progressives
Congress, APC,
Professional Forum at
the national secretariat
of the party.
He also dismissed
calls for the convocation
of a national conference,
saying with an elected
parliament in place,
having such a conference
was a non-issue.
Shehu added that the
Boko Haram terrorists
are currently fighting
for survival as the
Federal Government
had cut their supply
chain.
‘You can't
intimidate
Buhari’
“On the unity of this
country and the calls for
secession and the
insinuation that the
Presidency is not
talking, the Presidency
has been talking. And
our position is that this
country is one, is united,
and by the grace of God
will continue to be
united.
“Look, one thing with
this President and the
National Secretary of the
party has said a bit of
that, you cannot
intimidate Buhari; you
cannot bully him. A lot
of these people who are
calling for secession are
the problem of this
country and I am happy
that reasonable opinion,
reasonable voices are
now rising. Is it not only
yesterday we were
reading Afenifere, the
most credible faction of
Afenifere saying they
were not for secession?
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo
has said this over and
over again. So this thing
about secession is, they
had used it in the past.
You create secession and
break up Nigeria and
then you intimidate the
sitting leader and then
he opens the vaults and
brings money to settle
people.
“President Buhari will
pay no one. He is not
going to pay and and
now, it is clear that
having ignored all of
that, reasonable
opinions are coming
from those states and
from those regions.
“Now, the thing about
the South-East is part of
the earlier conversation
we just had now.
Criminals are fighting to
gain the upper hand but
I tell you that no
criminal or terrorist is
bigger than this
country. None of them
is mightier than our
armed forces.
“This structure has
been there. They were
certificated and praised
for World War One, World
War Two, they stabilized
the entire West Africa
region. Without Nigeria,
would there be Liberia in
its present form? Would
there be Sierra Leone in
its present form, even
Gambia? So just give it
time and support and
pray, we will win against
these forces.
“The governors in the
South-West, we have all
heard them, they have
denounced all of these
things. So, it is a sham,
Nigerians want to be
one, they want to
continue. Yes, there are
problems and we are
hoping that as people
united and loving of one
another, we will come
together and solve our
problems and that leads
me to the next question,
whether there should be
national conference?
‘No need for
Continues on Page 27
By Victoria Adibeli
On expectations from acting Police IG
My expectation of him
is high though I have
learnt not to expect too much
from any political office
holder. I expect him to first of
all organise conferences that
will enlighten the citizens and
then establish a police-citizen
relationship. I am not
expecting him to make
Nigeria corruption-free but
there’s no harm in doing
something about it and
creating an atmosphere of
peace.
—Olawale Olalekan,
Student
The new IGP is a man
that has served in
different states and
positions. He rose in the
Force through hard work
and diligence. I expect
that since he has done
well previously which
earned him his
promotion, I believe he
will live up to
expectation and do all it
takes to move the country
forward.
—Okoye Ijeoma,
Communicator
Iexpect the new IGP to
be the bridge between
the police and the people.
Right now, the Police
have lost respect among
the citizens. I expect him
to be able to redeem their
image and restore their
former glory. So much has
happened because the
people have lost faith in
the police who are
supposed to be protecting
them hence I expect him
to correct that.
—Blessing Adibeli ,
Nurse
Since IGP Baba
Usman did well in
his previous
assignments, I expect
him to work even more
towards curbing
insecurity to achieve
peace and to make
sure the citizens have a
safe place to dwell in.
The country is our own
and Nigeria and
Nigerians need peace.
—Sotonwa Olanike,
Self-employed
He has a great
responsibility
ahead of him because of
the insecurity in Nigeria.
He should try to boost
the morale of police
officers and equip them
adequately with relevant
trainings and arms to
deal with insecurity in
the land. I believe
Nigeria police still have
the capacity to deal with
these crimes and
criminals.
—Christian Izu,
Content writer
T
he new acting IGP has
a great job ahead. The
Police Force needs
reformation to restore public
confidence in the police. This
means that the police will be
made to respond as quickly
as possible to emergencies
and not to use their power to
oppress citizens in any form.
I love his recent activities
which discourages the
inefficiency of certain arms
of the police. It’s the dawn of
a new era.
—Olaoluwa Joshua,
Student