Frontline Igbo leader and member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Emmanuel Inwuayanwu on Tuesday called on the Federal government to begin a process of dialoguing with the Boko Haram insurgents as a way of addressing the crisis in the northeast.
Speaking when the leadership of the Muslim Students Association of Nigeria (MSAN) presented him with an award as peace ambassador in recognition of his contribution to peacebuilding and student empowerment, Iwuanyanwu said those involved in the Boko Haram insurgency were Nigerians who should be brought to the roundtable to discuss the way out.
Chief Iwuanyanwu said the government should take steps to find out why the insurgents were fighting, pointing out that as Nigerians they cannot be asked to leave the country and so, efforts should be made to engage them in dialogue.
The PDP Chieftain also expressed support for the anti-corruption crusade of the Buhari administration, stressing that at his age, he can no longer sit back and refrain from saying the truth.
According to him, Boko Haram has killed more Muslims than Christians, so it is not about religion. These people are just enemies of Nigeria.
“I want to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari for the success his government has recorded against the insurgency in the country. But at this point, the federal government should find out why these people are really fighting because they are Nigerians.
“So, the government should dialogue with them because the dialogue is a way of addressing the problem. These people are Nigerians so get them and talk to them with a view to changing their mindset because you can’t chase them away from Nigeria.”
While expressing support for the Buhari anti-corruption war, he said even though successive administrations fought corruption “but President Buhari made it a major issue because I have seen monumental fraud exposed by this government.
“So, what Buhari needs is support from those working with him, remember that one man cannot run a government,” Nwayanwu stated.
He described Nigeria as the hope of the black nations all over the world, adding that the Muslim students have come to demonstrate to him that the future of the country is assured with the likes of right youthful people.
He said the founding fathers of Nigeria never envisage that one day some people will come up to demand secession, saying “So people who have been talking about the disintegration of Nigeria did not know what they are talking about. Don’t talk about Balkanization of the country because those calling for disintegration of the country simply want you to continue to fight border war”
Speaking earlier, leaders of the Muslim Students Association of Nigeria (MSAN) Olalekan Salami called on the federal government to take immediate action against the renewed killings by the terrorists in the North-east region in particular and other parts the country.
Salami said the honour becomes necessary to clear the bad notion about Muslim as a religion because they “want to convince the people who are having the bad notion of our religion. We are associating with Christian like you (Chief Inwuayanwu) that we are one and that we are serving the same God.”
This is a reasonable view which should taken seriously by Buhari and his men.
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