Former Governor of Abia State,
Dr. Orji Kalu, has cautioned against the inadvertent fueling of
terrorism in the country through incendiary utterances by northern
elders which can egg on terrorists.
He made the appeal in response to the
inflammatory comments by some northern elders strongly condemning the
counter-insurgency role of outgoing Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen.
Onyeabor Azubuike Ihejirika.
“By virtue of his eminent position,
Ihejirika could not have annihilated any group of Nigerians in his
management of terrorism in the northern part of the country. In
professionally handling such volatile situations, the goal is to achieve
minimal civilian casualty whatever it takes. No military leadership
ever goes on genocidal mission in such circumstances. The Boko Haram
menace is an internal strife that calls for painstaking domestic
intervention.
“The declaration by the Northern Elders’
Forum (NEF) is an unwitting support for the insurgents to continue with
their terrorism against the country. What this is capable of doing is
to give fillip to the bunch of anarchists who inexplicably have taken up
arms against their fatherland. The rational thing to do is to profusely
commend the armed forces, particularly the military, for the
progressive crackdown on insurgency.
“It is unfounded and preposterous to
affirm that soldiers engaged in extra-judicial killings in Bama and
strangulation of civilians in Giwa barrack and insinuate Ihejirika’s
complicity in the nefarious scenarios. So, the question of futilely
dragging the former army leader and others to the International Criminal
Court smacks of absurdity and ingratitude,” Kalu said in a statement
issued by his Media Advisor, Ebere Wabara.
According to Kalu, Nigerians should
appreciate the magnitude of selfless work and sacrifice being made by
the armed forces and other well-meaning members of the society in
combating terrorism instead of needlessly pointing the finger. “We must
guard against dysfunctional tales, clannish misconceptions and emotive
outbursts that could jeopardise the strategic fight against the on-going
guerrilla-like warfare, which the country is winning,” Kalu said.
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