Former President
Olusegun Obasanjo, on Wednesday, said the extremisms of the Boko Haram in
the North-East and the Niger Delta militants in the South-South were not
addressed on time by the government before they became monsters.
Obasanjo, who said this at a workshop in Abuja on the
prevention of violent extremism, noted that the Niger Delta agitation grew from
socio-economic deprivations.
According to him, violent extremism was one of the hindrances
to reaping the dividends of democracy.
He said, “Violent extremism does not just spring overnight.
For me, each of us has some form of extremism in us. What then makes extremism
go violent? This happens when grievances are not immediately addressed. They go
violent when they are left unaddressed or untreated. I want to illustrate with
two or three examples. The militants in the Niger Delta did not start as
militants. They started as people who felt they were not getting what they
deserved within the economic and social millieu of Nigeria.
“I went as the Nigerian President and I was shocked about
what I saw of the oil companies and the settlements of natives, where they had
no water, no electricity, and no road. Their poverty was not addressed.
“When they failed to get attention and get their situation
addressed, violence became part of their solution. The solution lies in
developing that community.
“Also, the Boko Haram insurgents that are raging now, was
started by Mohammed Yusuf who was normal, learned in Islamic religion and a
good orator and preacher. When he was confronted with the poverty and lack of
job opportunity for his followers, he decided to try and find a solution.
“What should we have as our narrative today? I have always
maintained that it should be the stick and carrot approach. We did not have a
stitch-in-time for the Boko Haram. It has festered and gone beyond Maiduguri
and Nigeria and we have a monster. If we had tamed it much earlier with the
right narrative, with the right action, the story might have been different.”
At the workshop, which was organised by the Club De
Madrid; European Union Delegation; Stop Violent Extremism Madrid + 10;
Partnership Against Violent Extremism and the Counter Terrorism Centre,
the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno , said all stakeholders
must explore ways of preventing sermons in mosques from radicalising youths.
Monguno also said the Federal Government would in August
launch a national framework on prevention of violent extremism.
Monguno said that the success of the war against violent
extremism would depend on “finding lasting solutions to the challenges of
governance, democratic institutions, and a lack of opportunities.”
According to him, addressing security challenges demands a
comprehensive regional and international approach that combines both soft and
hard approaches to the threat of violent extremism.
He said that investigations had shown that extremist groups
such as Boko Haram believed they were waging a Jihad war.
Meanwhile, the European Union says at least 25 out of the 27
local government areas in Borno State are affected by Boko Haram.
The Head of the EU Delegation to ECOWAS and Nigeria,
Ambassador Michael Arrion, said this on Wednesday when members of the
Progressive Alliance of Democrats and Socialists in the European Parliament
visited members of the advocacy group, BringBackOurGirls, in Abuja on Tuesday.
While responding to a remark, Arrion said, “I am happy to
tell you that very soon we will be in Borno to announce a support recovery and
rehabilitation. We will be working with the Borno State authorities. I took
your message. We know that 25 LGAs out of 27 need strong support in terms of
rehabilitation. We will contribute to that, I promise you.”
Arrion told our correspondent that the North-East should
expect at least €140m assistance from the EU.
Meanwhile, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has called on
the EU and other donor agencies for more support to resolve the humanitarian
crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Nort-East.
Saraki, in a
statement by his Special Assistant on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, made the call
when the President of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and
Democrats in the European Parliament, Pittella Gianni, visited him at the
National Assembly in Abuja.
Copyright
PUNCH.
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