All Nigerians must join fight against insurgents, he says
• As Iwu gets commendation at book launch
Chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babaginda Aliyu, has again hinted that time was up for Boko Haram insurgents operating in North-eastern parts of the country, saying the time has come for Nigerians to support President Goodluck Jonathan in rooting out terrorists.
Aliyu, who spoke in Abuja yesterday during the launch of a book, Jinx Breaker, which foreword was written by former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, said Boko Haram knew no religion or ethnicity, adding that leaders and every Nigerian must come together to uproot them.
Governor Aliyu said: “Nigerians must stand up to Boko Haram. Their time is up. We need to defeat them now. You might think it is not happening in your region. Look at many nations where it is taking toll. When it started in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Egypt, many thought it was their business.
“We must support the president to root out Boko Haram. The Federal Government must quarantine religious extremists. They are enemies of the nation.”
Aliyu’s position on the need for Nigerians to unite and root out Boko Haram was collaborated by South-West leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, who stated that politicians must put aside their political differences to present a formidable force against the daring insurgents.
Speaking on the book, which chronicles Prof. Maurice Iwu’s tenure as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the tortuous transition from one democratic rule to another in 2007, Governor Aliyu hailed the former INEC boss.
He said considering the circumstances under which elections were conducted, Prof. Iwu did what was best for the country, adding that in time, Nigerians would begin to appreciate his contributions to the country’s development.
He said: “Many of us allow ourselves to be overwhelmed and we forget to remember where the problem started. I know that every coup that has happened in Nigeria has the hand of civilians in it. Foreign interests have interest in our elections.
“I have never seen where any section of the country sponsored any coup. All the coups of the past did not have the interest of the people at heart. Since 1999, you can see that the military has always put people in office, people they can control. We must change this.
“Take what happened in Ekiti in the area of the number of registered voters and unclaimed voter cards. The same thing happened in Osun. How can you register people who were not on ground? The actual people that turned out to vote in Osun were less than 50 per cent of what we had in our books.
“Even if angels were to come and conduct our elections, as long as we do not have good behaviour, that angel cannot conduct good elections. I have been a great admirer of Iwu. The elections of 2007 were a do-or-die affair. When people take that kind of approach, even umpires could be killed in the process. At that time, we thought it was not a good job. With time, we now know he did a good job.”
Urging former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, to go back to his state and complete his second term in office, Aliyu said: “Ohakim, people have come and gone. Please, go back and complete your second term. Please go back. There is one young man who should learn from Ohakim. He is in the House of Representatives. That is the place where they wait for monthly alerts.”
Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Kalu equally absolved Prof. Iwu of any wrongdoing in the conduct of the 2007 general elections. He said Iwu made history by successfully presiding over an election that broke a jinx of 47 years, by ushering in a new leadership of the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“I think something is very peculiar in every chairman of INEC. In 2007, people protested after the elections. In 2011, people also protested. Even if you bring a pope to conduct elections, people would protest. So, people should buy this book and understand what happened. Do not be shy to buy copies of the book,” Kalu urged.
Chairman of the book launch, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, reechoed his old argument that Igbo did not spearhead the first coup in 1966 that ousted the late Tafawa Balewa. He said it was a misconception that must be corrected.
Iwuanyanwu submitted that Nigerians owed Prof. Iwu for successfully overseeing an election that ushered in the country’s first democratic transition.
“It is a time for Nigerians to reappraise themselves. We have to look at the past. I know everything that happened after independence. You can only appreciate the work of Prof. Iwu if you look into the past elections. When Iwu wanted to take the job, I felt for him because I knew him personally.
“In the past, there have been misconceptions and this book attempts to put the records straight. Iwu inherited a very bad electoral system. I think Nigerians owe him a lot. When you want to assess somebody, you cannot forget the environment where he operates. Iwu came, he saw and he conquered.”
The man of the moment, Prof. Iwu, who spoke to journalists after the event, said his memoir on the conduct of 2007 elections would soon be unveiled. He said all the decisions he took, which were in the best interest of the country at the time, would be well documented.
According to him, there was no need to look back and regret. Saying that he was never bothered by the series of criticisms that greeted his tenure in office as chairman of INEC, Iwu said as a scientist, he always looked forward and could not be deterred by the opinions of others.
Speaking on his research on the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD), conducted in 1999, Iwu said everything Nigerians needed to know about the virus was contained in the research. He did not give details into claims that bitter kola could cure the deadly virus.
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