President
Goodluck Jonathan has expressed optimism that the acts of terrorism being
perpetrated by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, which has killed over 1,400 people
in the North since 2010, will soon be over.
Jonathan told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday in New York
on the sidelines of the ongoing General Assembly meeting of the United Nations,
that the Federal Government’s multifaceted approach in tackling terrorism has
started bearing fruit.
He also dropped a hint that he had not given up on the complete
withdrawal of fuel subsidy, despite the strong opposition to the policy that
forced him to back down last January when he attempted it.
According to him, the “robust” approach to checkmating Boko
Haram using military force, holding indirect talks with the group and improving
education in the North has led to a reduction in the number of successful
attacks carried out by the insurgents.
Security agents in the last few months seemed to have gained the
upper hand in their frequent clashes with the terrorists, many of whom have
either been killed or arrested.
The security agents made a major breakthrough in their
anti-terror campaign last Monday when they killed a suspected top member of the
insurgent group and arrested 156 others in Mubi, Adamawa State.
Operatives of the special security squad, Operation Restore
Sanity, made the arrest during a raid on the insurgents’ hideout in Mubi, which
led to a gun battle with the terrorists in which one of the Boko Haram key
commanders, believed to be Abubakar Yola, alias Abu Jihad, was killed.
Four of the 156 persons arrested are also believed to be top
unit commanders of the sect involved in the recent bombings of
telecommunications facilities in the North-east about three weeks ago.
In addition, over 300 improvised explosive devices already
primed for detonation, 25 assorted brands of rifles, mostly brand new AK 47,
submachine guns and over 2,000 daggers, swords, bows and poisoned arrows were
recovered from the hideout.
Also recovered was a huge quantity of bomb-making devices, which
was stored in a large compound, situated at Shagari Low Cost Housing, Mubi.
Security agents also in Yobe killed 35 suspected Boko Haram
members in a raid on their hideout in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, between
last Sunday and Monday.
The killing of Abu Jihad and others came one week after the
Joint Military Task Force (JTF) claimed to have killed a key member of the
sect, suspected to be the sect’s spokesman, Abu Qaqa, a nom de guerre used by
the spokesmen of the sect, and arrested two others in Kano.
Jonathan, in his interview with Reuters, however, played down
the significance of the killing of Abu Qaqa, in a gun battle in Kano on
September 16.
“If I look at it, the trend is coming down,” he said about the
threat posed by Boko Haram. “It's not because Abu Qaqa is dead. Abu Qaqa is
just one person. If one Abu Qaqa dies, it can generate 10 Abu Qaqas.
“The issue is not the death of one person. The issue is that the
robust approach that government is taking, exploiting all possible means, is
paying off, and we believe it will continue to pay off.”
The president made it clear that the military approach could
only be one part of the solution.
Much more important, he said, was a push to improve agriculture,
job prospects and access to Western-style education in the North.
“The whole approach, both the security aspects, both the
indirect talks, and the job opportunities that we are creating, is achieving results.
We are giving hope to the people. The education institutions we are
establishing are giving hope to the people.
“One links up with the other to get to the respite we are seeing
now; I cannot credit it to only one approach,” Jonathan said.
Last month, presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, had said
the Federal Government was reaching out to Boko Haram and talking with some of
its members through “backroom channels” as it seeks a peaceful way out of
terrorism.
On the crisis of confidence between the Federal Government and
states over the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), the president
said both parties would soon resolve their differences.
The governors have proposed fresh terms to the Federal
Government as a condition for withdrawing their suit before the Supreme Court,
challenging the legality of the operation of the Excess Crude Account (ECA)
from where government withdrew the $1 billion seed capital for the take-off of
the SWF.
“Yes, we can go to court. But we believe it's not the best to
solve certain problems through a court. We are discussing, and I believe at the
end of the day we will get to a point where both parties will win.
“They are not arguing because they know that the issue of the
Sovereign Wealth Fund is transparent, they trust the Minister of Finance.
“They feel that some of the states have challenges and they want
to decide what percentage they can put in. But we feel it is better we do it
collectively,” the president said.
Jonathan also talked about his push to abolish fuel subsidy, for
which he had to beat a retreat last January in the face of crippling nationwide
strikes.
“Besides the issue of corruption, it was being abused. All over
the world, people advised that states should no longer subsidise hydrocarbons,
because when you subsidise hydrocarbons, those who gain are not the ordinary
people.
“Quite a lot of Nigerians agree that subsidies must go," he
said, adding that he expected to again try a gradual phase-out to soften the
impact of price increases. "This time around, we will properly involve the
people and give a robust timeline."
Nigeria's cities are expected to grow to 200 million people by
2050, the UN forecast in April. But Jonathan said he was wary of forecasts
based on current trends and suggested that the country's population growth
would eventually slow down.
“That (growth forecast) is based on the present statistics in
terms of a pattern of reproduction, which may not continue that way,” he said.
“As more people become more educated and more aware, they tend to reduce the
size of their population.”
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