War Against Terrorism, President Jonathan Insists

 Nigeria Winning War Against Terrorism, President Jonathan Insists

Despite two high-casualty bombings at Nyanya in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory last month and last week, President Goodluck Jonathan says the country’s anti-terrorism fight is improving and the state of emergency in three states in the northeast has been effective.
Speaking at Sunday’s presidential media chat, Jonathan recalled that there was a time when he had to monitor what was happening in the country even during church services on Sundays.
“Now, it has really gone down. Before, most times, those who attend service with me in the State House will be looking at my face; and after some time, it is not likely to change,” he said.
“In those dark days, we will be in service and hear that in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, they are blasting churches. But now, it has really improved.”
He expressed concerns over series of negative comments on government’s handling of terrorism, arguing that the commentators are not in the right position to make pronouncements that reflect the true situation.
“When you wake up and you hear that there was a bomb blast somewhere, as a Nigerian, you are tempted to say certain things. But it takes those who are currently handling it and those who are in the shoes to even explain what has been done, and what has not been done,” Jonathan said.
“The ordinary person will not want to hear a bomb blast anywhere, whether it is in Nigeria, whether it is in Syria, whether it is in Egypt, whether it is in Pakistan, whether it is in Kenya. No ordinary citizen of a country will want to hear of a bomb blast.”
Answering questions on the effectiveness of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, the president expressed happiness with the job of the Military in the region, and even indicated that an extension of the emergency rule is possible.
“The state of emergency is effective. You see, a number people think differently when you talk about state of emergency. Some Nigerians even feel that if you declare state of emergencies, the political administrations must collapse,” he said.
“That is their own idea of a state of emergency — [that] the governor will leave, the state assembly will be dissolved, local government chairmen and councillors will leave. That is their own thinking of a state of emergency; and as long as those people are there, they feel that the state of emergency is not complete.
“Some feel that if it is a state of emergency, you are going to handle internal security issues as if you’re fighting international war. Even in international war, conventional soldiers operate under strict guidelines. You are aware of soldiers and governments being prosecuted for war crimes. And that is the advantage criminals have over soldiers. Criminals use cartridges to fire a car. But a soldier cannot. A soldier cannot use ordinary rifle; it has to be during confrontation.”
Maintaining that declaring state of emergency in those states was not to cause political upheaval, he explained that the declaration will ensure that security personnel have some leverage, in order to minimise litigations.
“If we don’t declare state of emergency in Borno State, for example, and if Mr. A or Chief A or Alhaji A has weapons in his house, we can’t enter that house until we get search warrant,” Jonathan said.
“As a security person, you can’t enter that house until you get search warrant. You cannot force yourself in; you will be sued. It is against our laws — to protect people. But the state of emergency helps us, so that if we suspect that you are hiding a criminal or hiding weapons in your house, we can enter your house without you suing government. So it is not as that if you declare state of emergency, you wipe out everybody.
“There is no conventional war where you have troop that you’re going to conquer and take over that territory and it ends. So in a state of emergency, you don’t expect the Nigerian Air Force to go and blast everywhere and wipe out everybody. So if somebody says the state of emergency is not successful, they are not being realistic, and they are saying that out of frustration, because they feel that maybe it has taken too long for this crisis to end.”
On whether it would be extended, he said: “We are consulting. And if we need to extend it, we will extend it, because I believe that we are succeeding and it has been very helpful for the operations.”
However, the president admitted that the Nigerian Armed Forces require manpower and technological fortification, which haven’t been in place over the years because the country was not confronted with its present-day terrorism challenge.
“In this country, for quite some time, we have not been equipping our Armed Forces that much, because we’ve never had challenges until this issue of Boko Haram came,” he said.
“So what we’re trying to do within a period is what we should have done in the past 10 years or so; and we’re doing just that now.”