The attention of the All Nigeria Peoples Party [ANPP] has been drawn to media reports where the State Chairman of the Borno State PDP, Alhaji Baba Basharu, said that President Goodluck Jonathan is too busy to visit the troubled state, and that the PDP members in Borno are not bothered by it. Out of the whole jaundiced goulash that the chairman was able to spew, we can only marvel at the extent a man can go to grab media attention and cheap political relevance.
To start with, no Nigerian is ignorant of the duty Mr President owes every citizen of this great country as the father of the nation. It takes preeminence over his personal proclivities, fears, partisan affiliations, and evolving interests and duties. Contrary to what Alhaji Basharu asserted, there is no other way to build a country than to ruminate on the emerging problems of your people, and to run to their side in physical show of solidarity when the chips are down. In the absence of such leadership gestures, nucleus of crisis evolve and spread into cancer of catastrophes, and a fertile ground presented for innuendoes and unnecessary bad blood.
Furthermore, if the State Chairman is wearied of playing an opposition in a State that the masses have continually expressed their unflinching confidence in the ANPP, and wants to become the spokesman of his party, it is clearly doubtful that he has the capacity to fill that post. What with his short memory and disregard for facts as he hurriedly defends President Jonathan. Has he forgotten that the President himself said during his third media chat that he has not visited Borno State because the airport there was not functional at the time he planned to visit? In the words of President Jonathan,‘‘And we did not want to land somewhere and fly in to Maiduguri with a helicopter for obvious reasons.’’
On the other hand, peradventure Alhaji Basharu is playing by the script of the PDP, and is actually on an errand for the ruling party in his inane ranting; we can only say that it is unfortunate that the party is brazenly defending the indefensible. If Mr President said that the inoperative airport was the reason for his decision not to visit Maiduguri, we ask why he has not visited now that the airport is functional. In any case, maybe the argument of being busy is now proffered as another lame justification considering that the excuse of unavailable airport is no more tenable.
Therefore, the ANPP calls on the National Leadership of the PDP to call their State Chairman to order before the man, out of exuberant brashness, turns their house upside down. We believe that the suspects already apprehended by the law and the ones currently being investigated in connection with the Boko Haram crisis, are enough exhibits to reveal the partisan affiliations of the sponsors of the unfortunate bloodletting in Borno State. What is more, the litany of victims is manifest testimony of the political party feeling the real pain as a result of the violence. Nevertheless, as a party, we still persist in our faith that Nigeria as an indivisible entity shall surmount all its present troubles.
Signed:
Hon Emma Eneukwu
National Publicity Secretary
