Boko Haram attacks are political, says AliyuPRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday promised a 'systematic approach' to stamping out corruption in Nigeria just as he described the country as a serious project that all stakeholders must handle jealously.He also pledged that youth unemployment would soon be a thing of the past in the country, especially when the economy is stimulated with the agricultural sector strengthened and Nigerians embraced peace and tolerance on a wider scale.Also, apparently reacting to recent reports, President Jonathan has declared that the socio-political state of the nation does not bode well for the introduction of the state police system in the country.The President stated these at the opening ceremony of the second quarterly meeting of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.Besides, he urged the citizenry to be patient with his administration on the controversial fuel subsidy removal, stressing that the policy would lead to the creation of more job opportunities for Nigerians.At the event, Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, stated that the Boko Haram attacks were politically-motivated.His words: 'The problem of Boko Haram is political. Some politicians used the sect for election purposes and after the election, the members of the sect have come back for their own shares. As a Moslem, I know that anyone who kills or commits suicide is going to Hell straight.'Aliyu disclosed that governors have decided to enact laws that would check the utterances of clerics who deliver sermons in mosques and churches to incite their followers under the guise of religions.Stressing that power belonged to God, the President said he did not have an exclusive solution to the challenges currently facing the nation but assured that Nigeria was destined to be among the best countries of the world.On graft, President Jonathan said: 'If we all think that corruption starts and ends with political office holders, we will tackle it from a wrong side. But as a government, we shall tackle it systematically. That is why we have set up the various anti-graft bodies in Nigeria to fish out the corrupt elements among us.'We shall definitely not celebrate corruption. We shall very soon set up a structure that will not allow government office holders to have direct access to funds that belong to the State called Nigeria.'On the clamour for a state-based police regime, President Jonathan said: 'State Police may be theoretically good, but looking at our political environment, it could be abused to the detriment of the country.'The consensus is that we should get to the point where we will be sure that whoever is in power will not turn it against the people. The first step is for us to have confidence in elections conducted at the state and local council levels.'Quoting copiously from both the Bible and Quran, President Jonathan urged all Nigerians irrespective of sex, tribe or religion to live together in peace and harmony and have mutual respect for one another towards building the nation that would be an enviable one in the world.He added: 'I urge all of us to pray for Nigeria in line with our National Anthem to enable us to live in Unity, Peace and Progress.'The President, while underlining the imperative of the role of traditional rulers in Nigeria said they were recognised at the state's level through the Traditional Councils just as he opined that the secular nature of Nigeria as enshrined in the Constitution would not ordinarily allow the creation of the offices on religion for politicians.He thanked President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor who is also the Co-Chairman of NIREC and the Sultan of Sokoto and NIREC co-Chairman Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar for their invaluable contributions to peace in Nigeria.In his opening remarks, the Sultan while thanking the President for attending the event, noted: 'Most people believe that there is problem between Christians and Moslems in Nigeria. We know this but I want to say that they are being overblown. The function of the NIREC is to find out the problem and provide a framework to put an end to them.'We have found out that there may be problem between Christians and Moslems but there is no problem between Islam and Christianity as religions. We must keep on talking and try to look beyond the past because things are truly changing for better. There is no problem that dialogue can not stop.'Oritsejafor said: 'Many things had happened between the time we met last in January and now. We must be sincere in addressing the religious and political problems bedeviling our country. We must find a lasting solution to the insecurity problem we are presently facing as Nigerians, now. There is no substitution for peace and I believe that Nigeria can be better.'The wanton destruction of lives and property in Nigeria at present should not be treated with kids gloves. Such people should be seen as declaring war against the state. If we are compensating the Boko Haram leader killed then what about those who were killed by the Boko Haram leader, especially the policemen and the soldiers trained to defend us' I think they even deserved better compensation. We must be more concerned with innocent lives being killed everyday.'Aliyu stressed that any Muslim who committed suicide in the name of religion would end it up in Hell, just as he cautioned against the killing of others as 'God does not take delight in those doing so.'The President also told the gathering that consultations on the deregulation of the downstream sector of Nigeria's petroleum industry were ongoing.He said that state governors were expected to organise town hall meetings to explain the rationale for government's stance on fuel subsidies to their people.'Deregulation is not just about removal of subsidy but also about how we can stimulate the economy to create jobs for our teeming unemployed young men and women.'Government is not unmindful of the hardship faced by the average Nigerian and is doing its best to create conditions in which each and every Nigerian can lift his or herself out of the doldrums of poverty.'We are not going to celebrate corruption but fight it by doing things properly and not creating opportunities for it to thrive. We are going to systematically fight it by setting up structures and strengthening the anti-corruption institutions.
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