Jonathan blames northern governors for Boko Haram insurgency

President Goodluck Jonathan lashed out northern governors blaming them for the spate of violence in their region.

The president said this yesterday in Bauchi at the North-east Zonal Rally of his party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). He blamed the governors for their failure to provide opportunities for citizens to readily acquire primary and secondary school education in their states thereby contributing to the army of illiterates who eventually resort to violence.

He said elements like these are eventually used as willing tools by sponsors of extremist ideologies to disrupt peace and foment trouble.

He said, “Sometimes governors will come and say we have some issues because of bad leadership. I was governor, deputy governor before I became a governor. I spent eight years at the state level, I handled security challenges. That was the state where the first commercial kidnapping took place because of excess militancy.

“More than 70% of the state is swamp. I knew how we handled things. A governor will come and say bad leadership, bad leadership from whom? If we have security challenges, whether you call them Boko Haram or whatever, these are people who couldn’t go to primary school, who couldn’t go to secondary school and they have no hope and miscreants or criminals now recruit them and using them; if you see what they wear, they wear rags and not normal clothes; all what they put on their bodies is not worth N10, but they carry rifles and bullets that are worth more that N250, 000. Somebody gives them food to eat so that they can kill.

“You ask how did we build this army of unemployed or unemployable youth? The Federal Government does not control primary education; it does not control secondary education, and a governor has been on seat for almost eight years and we have people in that state that can’t go to primary school, that can’t go to secondary school. You say bad leadership, who is the bad leader? Is it the Federal Government? I made sure that every state has a university. That is the responsibility of the Federal Government and I have done it.

“Governors must make sure that our children go to primary school, governors must make sure that our children go to secondary school. Somebody hide under the cover of politics and cannot do it in eight years or seven years plus. We still have do many children in your state that cannot go to primary school, not going to secondary school and you open your mouth to say bad leadership; is it the Federal Government or Mr. President that should come and take your children to primary schools? Federal Government by the constitution faces tertiary education.”

The chairman of the Party, Adamu Mu’azu had earlier urged aspirants to go to their wards, local governments and states to convince the people to vote for them. He also disclosed that all congresses in the 36 states and Abuja would be televised life for people to watch.

In his remarks, Vice President Namadi Sambo disclosed that all closed schools in the zone would be re- opened soon.

via 247naijagossip