Buhari Attack: Stop Politicizing Security Matters – Presidency To Political Class

CENTENARY-BUHARI-GEJThe Presidency on Friday advised the political class to leave issues of national security to those trained on the matter.

It, therefore, appealed to politicians to stop the blame game and also stop politicizing security challenges in the country.

The Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Matters, Prof. Rufai Alkali, said this yesterday while reacting to the separate bomb attacks on former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and Sheik Dahiru Bauchi in Kaduna on Wednesday.

Speaking when he visited the secretariat of Goodluck Support Group in Abuja, the political adviser said Nigerians must work collectively to tackle security challenges in the country.

While commiserating with victims of the insurgency in the country, Alkali debunked the insinuation in some quarters that the attack on Buhari could be from those opposed to him.

Alkali also sympathised with the opposition leader over the attack, saying it was by sheer providence that the nation was saved the trauma of having the former head of state come to harm.

Alkali said: “I want to express my sincere concern over what happened to our former head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. You all recall two or three days ago there was an attempted attack on his life and that of another senior citizen, Sheik Dahiru Bauchi in Kaduna.

“It is by the grace of God that today the lives of these two senior citizens were spared. We want to thank God for saving them and for saving this country from the trauma of what could have happened if the people behind it had achieved their objective.

“I want to also state that in a season like this, the usual thing is what has become the popular culture of blame game. I don’t think anybody in this country would be associated with such thing in any way or form.

“Therefore, those who want to trivialise or personalise these issues by attributing it to this government or the leadership of this government in any form, directly or indirectly, should desist from that.

“This government is committed to the security of this nation, it is committed to lasting peace in this country and Mr. President is deeply committed to bringing stability in our political environment.

“We should not over dramatise these issues. All of us must come together, we have a collective responsibility to protect and defend our country. This is not a time for politicising issues.

“Security matters are not for politicians. There are people who have been trained and who are responsible for security. We cannot do their job for them; they should be allowed to do their job.

“We should also desist from any attempt that will weaken the institutions of government, especially security agencies who are doing very well in containing the situation”.

Alkali, who formally took over yesterday as the National Coordinator of Goodluck Support Group, further declared that President Jonathan would build on the positive gains of the reform of the electoral process in 2015.