What Lai Mohammed told Political/News Editors in Lagos

Speech By The Hon Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, During His Meeting With Political/News Editors and International Correspondents in Lagos On Wednesday, Dec. 30th 2015

PROTOCOL

1     Good afternoon gentlemen and thank you for honouring our invitation to this meeting, which was called basically to thank you for your invaluable role in the success of the last general elections. Frankly, the history of that election will not be complete without an acknowledgement of the role played by the media.

2     This meeting also fits into my ongoing interaction with the various stakeholders in our country's information architecture. As you are aware, since assuming duties last month as the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, I have held a series of meetings with the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, RATTAWU, Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria and Civil Society Organizations. I believe these meetings are very important in charting the way forward in our sector, and in ensuring better information flow between the Government and the Citizenry

3     Now, the elections are over and we are facing new challenges. Top on the list of the challenges we face is the issue of security, especially as it relates to the Boko Haram war. Important as the economy is, no meaningful economic activity can take place in an atmosphere of insecurity. Gentlemen, in tackling this challenge, we are once again calling on you to play a key role. As I have said in many fora, in a time of war, journalists cannot afford to be neutral. After all, no one, journalists inclusive, can function if the country is in turmoil.

4     Now, in a few days' time, the deadline issued by President Muhammadu Buhari to the military to defeat Boko Haram will expire. Without equivocating, I will repeat what I said that has sparked a firestorm: Our gallant military has LARGELY met the deadline! I make this assertion with all sense of responsibility and they are backed by facts.

5     First, the military has massively degraded the capacity of the terrorists to carry out the kind of spectacular attacks they used to execute in the past, like the attack on the police headquarters or against the UN Complex.

6     Also, in just six month of this Administration, the Boko Haram that was in control of a territory larger than an entire geo-political zone in Nigeria has been reduced to a fleeing, bomb throwing, cowardly and disorganized army. And finally, all Boko Haram can do now is to attack soft targets: Markets, Motor Parks, Mosques and Entertainment centres, killing innocent men, women and children.

7     Among the areas where Boko Haram has been kicked out is Bama, which was the self-declared headquarters of their Caliphate. From there, they collected taxes, dispensed jungle justice, deposed and installed Emirs and hoisted their own flag. Today, the town is firmly in the hands of our troops. How then can anyone say Boko Haram has not been defeated!

8    The armchair critics who dispute these facts, from the comfort of their living rooms, are free to take a trip to the theatre of war to see things for themselves. Perhaps then, they will be more circumspecting in issuing reckless statements that give nothing but succour to Boko Haram. I have gone to the theatre of war to see things for myself. I did not just stop in Maiduguri, I went all the way to Konduga, Kaure and Bama which, as I said, was once the headquarters of the Boko Haram Caliphate.

9     The fact that Boko Haram has continued to carry out attacks on soft targets is not an indication that they still have capacity. As I have said many times, the attacks will not end with the expiration of the deadline, since insurgencies are not conventional warfares in which the guns could be silenced with an armistice. But I also said that the attacks will taper off with time, with better awareness among the citizenry and better intelligence gathering by the security agencies.

10   As expected, the dying and desperate insurgents have carried out some attacks on soft targets in the North-east during this festive season. This is cowardly, dastardly and condemnable. We commiserate with the state governments and the families of those who died or were injured in the attacks which, as I said earlier, are like the death pangs of a dying horse

11    These attacks are part of the propaganda that has been launched by Boko Haram and their fellow terrorists, ISIS, to seek to remain relevant in the face of massive routing by our gallant troops, and to also discredit our committed and patriotic troops. But the attacks do not shake our resolve a bit, in our determined quest to rid our nation of terrorists and ensure the security of our citizens

12    Now, let me repeat the appeal I made to the media, during my visit to the corporate headquarters of the Punch and the Vanguard newspapers on Tuesday. The media should stop glamourising Boko Haram. Reporting the Boko Haram attacks on the front pages is like the oxygen that fuels the fire of the insurgency. Pushing such stories off the headines and the front pages is like cutting off the oxygen supply to the insurgency.

13    In this regard, let me commend the newspapers that have already, and willingly too, put in place a policy of not reporting Boko Haram on their front pages or even mentioning the name of the group's leader under any circumstance. I want to appeal to other newspapers to follow suit and cut off the oxygen supply to the comatose Boko Haram. This is purely an appeal, as we have no intention whatsoever to censor any media organization.

14    Gentlemen, let me repeat that the military has availed itself creditably in the war against terror. The Civilian JTF has also played a major role in assisting the military to rout the terrorists, and I commend them. What is now missing is the civilian component of the war. We have kickstarted a campaign to raise awareness among Nigerians on the war, so that the citizens will not only support the war but they will also own it. It is the war for all Nigerians, not a war for the military alone.

15    As the military enters the mop-up phase of this war, what is left now is the onerous task of resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction, especially in the North-east, which is worst-hit by the war. We appeal for support from all Nigerians in this regard, because the government alone cannot handle this task. The over 2 million people who are displaced must be rehabilitated and resettled, and their homes and businesses must be rebuilt.

16     I thank you for your kind attention.