Boko Haram insurgence, a plan to divide Nigeria, says Omo-Agege

UGHELLI-FORMER Secretary to the Delta State Government, SSG, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, has said the ongoing Boko Haram insurgence was not a mere distractions but part of  plans to divide Nigerians along religious lines to bring the government of President Jonathan down and abort his transformation agenda in order to retain the many ills that bedevil the Nigeria nation. Delivery in lecture during the annual Major Isaac Adaka Boro memorial public lecture and awards held in Ughelli, Delta State, Omo-Agege said the single goal of the Boko Haram was to bring the government of President GoodluckEbele Jonathan down even if it means taking Nigeria down in the process. He therefore urged Nigerians across the world to join hands with President Goodluck Jonathan to jointly transform the country and create a future worthy of the visions and dreams of their founding fathers. He said; “If we let them succeed, we will be setting a dangerous precedent that all it takes is a few unwise and reckless feudalists to conspire and finance terrorists to chase an elected president out of office, hiding behind the facade of religion. “We must therefore all stand up and protect the democratic process and send a strong message that no amount of man-made carnage will make us abandon our President. By standing up and partnering with President Jonathan, we will tell the anarchists in our midst that our minds are transformed to the extent that they can no longer use religion, ethnicity, language or other primordial entanglements to divide us. If we let them succeed, the great promise of Nigeria will die and the blame will be on all of us for not recognizing that when we stand together behind our government, we will defeat any evil aimed at our nation including Book Haram. “My dear compatriots, one thing is certain, if Isaac AdakaBorowere alive today, his heart will be as heavy as ours because more than 200 of our precious daughters abducted by terrorists have not yet returned home to their parents. I have three daughters. If you do not have a daughter, it will be impossible to understand the indescribable pain of the parents of these abducted girls especially with all the commentaries and opinions in all kinds of media that talks of the girls being sold as slaves, married off to the terrorists, turned into sex slaves and forced to renounce their religion. “These girls and their parents had dreams of what they will be as part of the human community. There is no doubt some of them want to be doctors and nurses to save lives; teachers to impart knowledge and prepare the next generation; engineers to build homes, railways, roads, bridges; law enforcement officers to make our nation safer; get married and have children and become grandmothers and great grandmothers.  Under the present circumstances, it is next to impossible for these girls and their parents to hold on to any of these dreams not knowing if they will ever see each other again. “I don’t think I or anyone else including the abducted girls, their parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties have words sufficient to describe their pain and shock,  pain and shock that has infected the global community and attracted practical help from nations such as the United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Canada, China, Israel, amongst others. President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the unprecedented international support will lead to the decisive crushing of Boko Haram. I thank the international community for standing shoulder to shoulder with Nigeria at this very difficult time. “From what I know about Islam and from practicing devout Muslims, Boko Haram is not an Islamic terrorist group. Because religion is a very emotive issue, Boko Haram chose to hide behind Islam to be able to recruit people who believe they are fighting for Allah to turn Nigeria into the image of their warped minds”. Continuing, he lamented that; “Allah would not have instructed anyone to shed so much blood, cause so much destruction, abduct girls and sell them as slaves or turn them into sex slaves. So every Nigerian, Christian and Muslim, northerner or southerner, irrespective of political party affiliation must unite against this evil plot to destabilise our country”.