‘Politicians Desperate For Power In 2015 Behind Boko Haram Insurgency’

The Director-General of the Taskforce on Illegal Importation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Chief Emmanuel Okereke, has kicked against calls by some Nigerians for President Goodluck Jonathan to visit Chibok community in Borno State, saying the entire episode smacks of “sabotage and scam”.

In the wake of Boko Haram’s abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, in April, President Jonathan was berated for not deeming it possible to visit the community and commiserate with distraught parents of the abducted girls. A supposed visit in May was reportedly cancelled after it was leaked to the press as the president instead chose to attend a summit on Boko Haram in Paris, France.

Speaking after he was conferred with an award in Abuja by the Southern Youths For Peace Initiatives, Okereke, who was a former presidential candidate of African Liberation Party in the 2011 general elections, blamed the Boko Haram on “desperate politicians scheming for power in the 2015 general elections”.

He recalled that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) had earlier advised the Borno State Government against allowing students to sit for the exams in Chibok owing to the inadequate provision of security for its officials and students alike.

“The wave of insurgency had soared and the President came to save the country. Yet, people are saying he should go to Chibok. People say President Jonathan should go to Chibok; for what? In a country where there are governors and Minister of Education? In fact, the whole Chibok issue is a sabotage and scam.

“Politicians who are desperate for power in the 2015 general elections are the people sponsoring Boko Haram. About 30 per cent of the country’s borders remained unmanned by security agents”, he said.