‘Nigerians want concrete action on insecurity not sympathy,’ Afenifere tells Buhari

Afenifere, the leading Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take responsibility for safeguarding Nigerians from terrorists and other criminals on Monday.

Jare Ajayi, the group’s publicity secretary, made the call in a statement and questioned whether Buhari was genuinely aware of the security issues in various parts of the nation.
In various regions of the country, Boko Haram rebels, armed herdsmen, and bandits have created security issues for Nigeria.

Afenifere lamented Buhari’s lack of initiative in the face of the escalating security threats.

The statement read: “Unfortunately, we have not seen veritable indications that the C-in-C is aware of the enormity of the situation or is putting up any strategy to arrest it.

“It would be recalled that within two weeks, there have been about three kidnappings in Ogbomoso in Oyo State leading to the death of some victims, beheading of five people in the South-East, abduction of people in Katsina, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Niger, killing and abduction of about 15 people including Indian expatriates in Kogi State and abductions of some chiefs in Akoko area of Ondo State, etc., all within days in the country.

“These are in addition to several of such dastardly acts that have been happening in different parts of the country with increasing ferocity.

“What Nigerians expect from the government is not sympathy but actions — actions that will put a total end to the nightmare, indeed life-terminating experiences they are going through presently.

“Equally important, President Muhammadu Buhari needs to come out and let perpetrators of terrorism and kidnapping know that he has had enough.

“He should let them realise that the pact he signed with Nigerians was not to come and see to the serial termination of their lives but to ensure their security, improve their welfare and move the nation to a desirable next level.

“Unfortunately, the president has not been able to deliver on any of the desirables. He only brought to the nation the negatives which were far from the expectation of anybody.”