Ijaw Elders from Bayelsa State yesterday stepped up campaign to alert Nigerians against perceived provocative criticisms of President Goodluck Jonathan administration, asking Nigerians to rally round the policies and actions of the present administration to curb insecurity and corruption in the country.
Speaking on behalf of many elders from the State, a former Political Adviser, Chief Thompson Okorotie said though the nation is experiencing discomfort due to the rising cases of attacks from the Boko Haram group, all right thinking Nigerians should shun the political plot behind the insecurity and rally round the president in his effort to curb the violent activities in the country.
According to Okorotie, ”The country did not bargain for the kind of violent activity going on now and that nobody had anticipated this kind of insurgency. Instead of castigating the President, he should rather be commended in what he has been able to achieve through the security agencies because of the very serious network of the perpetrators of the violent act”.
He noted that the citizens should be patriotic, they should have a role to play to support the president to succeed as he can not fight the battle all alone as no president before now has faced this kind of situation. “I am convinced that President Goodluck Jonathan is capable of ruling this country and this he is doing well. I don’t think any past president has been faced with the kind of phenomenon of the Boko Haram. The President is still doing his best to handle the situation”.
Chief Okorotie while lamenting that the whole matter has been politicised, commended the president for refusing to be distracted from his? transformation agenda which first year report he said, had been very positive.
On? the call by some group of persons that the president should resign for not being able to address the Boko Haram issues, the Ijaw leader said, “it is wrong and there is no reason whatsoever for anybody or group of persons to call for the resignation of Mr. President. There is no country without one form of crisis or the other and the most I expect from the people is to give their support to the president in this trying times”.
Chief Okorotie, who served in the administration of Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, had also used the opportunity to caution those calling for the division of the country to desist from such insinuation as it would not augur well for the country, “I am a strong believer in the indivisibility of this great country, a strong believer in the unity of Nigeria. The Unity of this country, its largeness and with the resources that we have is a threat to the international community, so we must do every thing to preserve the unity of this country”.