Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno
South Senatorial District, has lamented the continued killings of
citizens by the terrorists group in the state, in spite of the
proclamation of a state of emergency in the state.
Ndume, who spoke to Senate
correspondents on Monday, acknowledged that the armed forces were doing
their best, but certainly could not be in every part of the emergency
area.
He however appealed to all Nigerians to
rally round the Federal Government to fight the terrorists in order to
restore peace to the area.
He said, “The group still razed the
primary school I attended in Gashua town over the weekend and shot dead
a Reverend friend of mine. nThis is in spite of the state of emergency
in the state.
“The problem of Boko Haram needs to be
taken more seriously by all Nigerians because it is not the issue of
Borno alone. There is no price that is too much for peace.”
On his relationship with the sect,
Ndume said, “I’ve been convicted by the press, but I won’t comment
further for fear of subjudice.”
He also blamed the media for the problems bedeviling the nation following sensational reporting.
He said, “The last 14 years of
democracy in Nigeria has recorded very little dividends for the
citizenry at all levels due to failure of governance in the land caused
by series of factors, one of which is the subjective press that thrive
on one-sided cum fictitious story reporting.
“For Nigeria to have concrete things on
the ground to celebrate for practising democracy within the next two
years, precisely by 2015, there must be change of altitude by the press
in the mode of actually been the watch dog of the society, reporting
things as they are, without any coloration.”
He also noted that his current ordeal
over alleged sponsorship of Boko Haram was compounded by sensational
reportage of the issue by the media.
He added that media reports had indicted him even before he was arraigned in the court of law.
