The Full Text of the Address
CENTRE FOR
CRISIS COMMUNICATION
Media Briefing Address by Executive Secretary Centre
for Crisis Communication (CCC), Air Commodore Yusuf Anas on Crisis Issues in the Nation, held in the
Centre on 4 August 2015
You are welcome to the Centre for Crisis
Communication (CCC) for this all important media briefing. You will recall that
during our last interaction organized and hosted by I-Nigeria Initiative, we took
the opportunity to formally introduce the Centre and its activities to you. We also
informed you that in line with the mandate of the Centre, it will be hosting
periodic media briefing on issues bordering on crisis with the aim of keeping Nigerians
informed through you.
Today’s briefing therefore is in relation with what
the Centre perceives as crisis or potential crisis in our polity. The Centre
appreciates the indispensable role of the media in crisis communication and therefore
seeks your partnership in helping to set the agenda in order to continue building
a safe, virile and democratic nation.
Gentlemen of the press, a key aspect of the Centre’s
operation is the painstaking monitoring and evaluation of the socio-economic
and political dynamics in our society with a view to identifying issues that are
breeding or could possibly breed conflict or even escalate into a crisis
situation. The Centre, through its early warning signal initiative, proffers
proactive suggestions aimed at averting identified potential crisis or suggests
ways of mitigating the effects of a crisis situation. The Centre therefore
notes the following issues in our national polity that are crisis prone and
which require attention.
a. National
Assembly Crisis:
The Centre has noted the considerable progress made
at arriving at an amicable resolution of the National Assembly leadership
crisis. However, the Centre is aware of underground moves to still truncate the
current compromises that were reached.
Knowing how far-reaching and negative effect
political crisis of this dimension could continue to be in inflaming passions, creating
divisive tendencies, and ultimately translating in crisis, we are appealing to
all the contending individuals, groups or parties to ‘shield their swords’ in
the national interest.
The Centre wants
to use this opportunity to also call on our dear members of the National
Assembly to similarly emulate the gesture of Mr. President by also slashing
their salaries to demonstrate to Nigerians that they are also sympathetic to
the current financial challenges of the nation and ready to make sacrifices to make
Nigeria better.
b. Non Payment of Salaries by
Some State Governments
Nothing breeds crisis more than the injustice of workers
being denied wages and entitlements. Public servants who toil for governments
and the nation deserve salaries at the end of the month. Failure to guarantee
this basic obligation on the part of any state government is a sure recipe for
crisis, i.e. crisis at home, schools, at the workplace and generally in the
society.
While several states embark on grandiose projects
that will bring personal returns to a few individuals, legitimate monthly
salaries of hardworking people to cater for their families were often denied as
result of what could be termed “profligacy”. The Centre therefore believes that this ugly
development is unwarranted, no matter the excuses advanced by the affected
states.
However, the CCC notes with great relief and deep appreciation
the intervention by the Federal Government to bail out the effected states to
enable them fulfills their statutory obligation to their workers. The Centre
therefore is imploring the affected states and indeed other states to be more
ingenious and judicious in handling their finances to avoid potential source of
crisis in the future.
c. Radio
Biafra
Another
worrisome development noted by this Centre is the issue of the Radio Biafra. The
Centre condemns in very strong terms the activities of the pirate radio station.
This illegal station which was transmitting from unknown location is, from all
intent and purposes, on a mission to orchestrate disunity in the country.
Radio stations of this nature that broadcast hate messages
and anti-government sentiments are quite capable of instigating dissent, inflaming
the polity and ultimately cause serious crisis in the country. The Rwandan case which led to unwholesome
destruction of hundreds of thousands of lives and property is instructive. Although
the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) recently announced the successful
jamming of the radio station, efforts must be doubled to take their online
contents off the internet as soon as possible.
d. Pipeline
Vandalism
The Centre condemns in its entirety the recurring
incidence of pipeline vandalism and the attendant oil spillages being carried
out by unscrupulous economic saboteurs. Apart from the disruption of normal oil
flow across the pipelines and loss in revenue, this economic crime has on many
occasions resulted in deadly fire and oil spillage that have claimed many lives
and damage to the environment in several communities.
Despite the dangers inherent in the pipeline
vandalism, the crime still persists. The nation witnessed few weeks ago, no fewer
than a hundred lives burnt to death in Arepo, Ogun State following a fire at
the scene of a vandalised pipeline where people were scooping petroleum products.
Inspite of that colossal human loss, a group of area
boys holding monopoly of violence in the guise of guarding the pipelines across
some regions of this country, some of your colleagues, photojournalists namely
Solomon Adeola of The Nation Newspaper and Omoniyi Aiyedun of The Sun Newspaper were captured and
tortured by these vandals when they went
to cover the circumstances surrounding the incident. The Centre is aware that
securing the entire length and breadth of the nation’s oil pipelines is
certainly a daunting task.
CCC therefore wants to reiterate greater need for the
protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure through a more robust
multi-agency collaboration and synergy. This
will go a long way in ensuring crude oil get to the refineries for refining and
subsequent supply to Nigerians to ameliorate the current fuel shortage.
e. Cattle Rustling and Herdsmen/ Farmers Clashes
Cattle rustling and destruction of farm lands in
recent times have reached an alarming proportion which always precipitates
bloody clashes leaving scores of people dead in different parts of the country
especially in the North. This recurring but often violent crisis perpetrated by
unknown hoodlums has continued to traumatize innocent and enterprising
Nigerians engaged in cattle rearing and farming.
The crisis is perhaps accentuated by the economic
hardship and joblessness. The Centre has received hundreds of calls from
several parts of the north over this issue. Instances abound where hoodlums send
letters to cattle breeders especially Fulanis and farmers to pay hundreds of
thousands of naira or even millions as ransom to avert attacks.
In some cases, the miscreants visit villages and drop
bags with a caveat to be filled with money, failure which risks attacks leading
to maiming and deaths of innocent people in the communities. In this regard, the
Centre wants to commend the recent joint efforts by the six state governors of
the North-West for collaborating to put an end to this despicable crime.
We particularly commend Governor Nasir El-Rufai for his
efforts in this regard and in setting up the ‘Cattle Initiative’ to fight
against cattle rustlers in Kaduna. The initiative has already recorded huge
successes with the recent recovery of over 2000 cows in different locations in Kaduna
state.
Similarly, Fulani
herdsmen and farmers clashes in Taraba, Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, Nassarawa,
Niger and other states over grazing rights has reached a crescendo where
affirmative action and solution must be found. We have received numerous distress calls and
emails over this issue from several quarters where the crisis has led to
communal clashes and deaths. The Centre is
calling on governments at all levels to ensure every action aimed at finding
lasting solution are put in place to enable the return of normalcy in the nooks
and corners of our communities.
The Centre believes that more discussions and
legislative actions at the states and National Assembly levels are needed now
on the propriety or otherwise of creating or delineating grazing areas in the
country.
f. Resurrection
of MEND
The Centre is equally agitated by the recent moves to
resurrect the once rested Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND).
It was purported to have planned a meeting of its old brigade members on 25
July 2015 in
Yenagoa. The arrow head of the meeting is no other person than Mr. Tompolo
along with some Ijaw youth.
Although Mr Tompolo denied attempting to resurrect
the rested militant group, the last may not have been heard on the issue. Nigerians
will recall how this deadly group almost crippled the nation’s oil production
from 2005 until when Late President Yaradua initiated the Amnesty Programme.
Since the inception of the Amnesty Programme billions of Naira has been and is
still being spent to address the Youth challenges of the region.
The appointment of Brigadier General Peter Boroh
(Rtd) will no doubt energise the programme. If there are genuine grievances
with the Amnesty programme, legitimate avenues and appropriate channels should
be exploited. However, the full wrath of the law should be brought to bear on
any individual or group that wants to engineer crisis aimed at militating
against the socio-economic development of our dear nation.
g. Dialogue
with Boko Haram
The Boko Haram challenges have continued to become an
intractable crisis situation to our nation. Recently, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno Stated that
“ more than three million innocent Nigerians from Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and
parts of Nigeria live in deep agony having lost their sons, daughters, fathers,
mothers, brothers, sisters, relations and neighbors after brutally being attacked
by members of the Boko Haram”. Indeed, many of our citizens are now orphans,
widows and forced to become refugees within and outside our country.
Over the years, government has been pursuing the
terrorists with the aim at ending the insurgency. Although successes have been
recorded in degrading the volatility of the terrorists, they are far from being
defeated.
Some prominent Nigerians have in recent times canvassed
the idea of dialogue with the Boko Haram. The option of dialogue, according to
them, at the moment provides a leeway of not only safely rescuing the abducted Chibok
school girls alive, but also possibly bringing to an end the orgy of violence
unleashed on innocent Nigerians by the group.
Considering the unspeakable atrocities which the
group has visited on Nigeria and Nigerians, this option is no doubt a hard
sell. However, the recent statement by President Muhammadu Buhari on government’s
readiness to negotiate with credible members of the sect has rekindled the hope
for dialogue.
The Centre views this gesture as good. It has opened
a window of opportunity for dialogue for those insurgents that are willing and
ready to lay down their arms. This position is predicated on calls made to this
Centre by some members of the Boko Haram requesting for genuine and
comprehensive dialogue that could lead to hundreds of them coming out to
renounce their membership.
The Centre however suggests that such dialogue should
be done with every sense of caution and responsibility bearing in mind the
previous disappointments that attended attempts at negotiations. Nevertheless,
the Centre will continue to support and encourage all efforts towards bringing
insurgency to an end in our country.
h. Kidnappings
and Armed Banditry
The Centre is also gravely concerned about the spate
of kidnappings for ransom and armed banditry across the country. These are also
serious crimes committed against our citizens. A case in point is the recent
kidnap of a 92 year old ruler of Tombia Community in Bayelsa State by unknown
gunmen. Similar cases abound in several parts of the nation.
In the same vein, armed robbery and ritual killings
have continued to afflict several individuals and communities across Nigeria.
This unacceptable situation should not be allowed to continue unabated.
Although our security agencies are doing their best, we want to urge them to
collaborate more to ensure perpetrators are apprehended and speedily brought to
justice.
h. On a
Positive Note
The Centre notes recent positive change of guard in
the nation’s armed forces and some security agencies by the President. It signifies
a new beginning for the organisations to restrategise on their service delivery
to the nation. However, it must be
reiterated that inter-agency collaboration should be paramount to enhance effective
and efficient discharged of their constitutional responsibilities.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the Centre believes no nation is
immune to crisis. However, what distinguishes one nation from the other is how
crisis are resolved with a view to ensuring the socio-economic and political
development of the country continues to be enhanced.
Issues bordering on crisis such as those in the NASS,
pipeline vandalism, Boko Haram, MEND, radio Biafra among others which have
attracted the attention of CCC should be carefully addressed. The Centre urges
Nigerians to remain steadfast and join hands to build a peaceful, democratic,
transparent and progressive nation that we all desire. Thank you.
Air Commodore Yusuf Anas
(Rtd)
Executive Secretary
Centre for Crisis
Communication
Abuja
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