You Cannot be Neutral When Nigeria is at War, Minister tells Editors

Address by the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during a meeting with newspaper Editors in Lagos on Wednesday, Dec. 23rd 2015.

PROTOCOL

Good afternoon gentlemen and thank you for honouring our invitation to this interaction, which is my first meeting with you since I assumed office last month as the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture.

As you must be aware, I have been having a series of meetings with various stakeholders, including the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Nigeria Guild of Editors, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, Radio, Television and Theater Arts Workers Union of Nigeria and Civil Society Organisations.

The meetings are all geared at ensuring a more effective and seamless communication between the Government and the people, which is key to the success of any democracy, as well as forging a mutually-beneficial working relationship in the interest of Nigerians.

Gentlemen, let me start off by thanking you all, most profoundly, for your invaluable role in the success of the last general elections that ushered in the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Thanks to you and all other important members of this profession, the media largely lived up to its constitutional watchdog role during the entire process that started with electioneering campaign right through the elections to the transition period and the handover.
Now, the elections are over and it is time for nation building, and we are once again calling on you because of the important role you have to play. Undoubtedly the topmost challenge facing our country today is the issue of security. Important as the economy is, no nation's economy can thrive in an atmosphere of insecurity. That explains why the welfare and security of the citizenry constitute the basis for the existence of any government, and why it is one of the key policies of this Administration.

The biggest security challenge we face as a nation today is the Boko Haram insurgency, that has left thousands dead and injured, displaced over 2 million people and crippled the North-east, both economically and socially, with a ripple effect that is felt across the nation.

You will agree with me that the Buhari Administration hit the ground running in tackling the insurgency, first relocating the military's command and control centre to the theatre of war in Maiduguri, raising the morale of the troops through enhanced welfare and the provision of the necessary fighting tools and then rallying sub-regional, regional and global support for the war.

Today, I can report to you that the war against Boko Haram is largely won. I can confidently say this because just recently, I led a group of 33 journalists, from both the local and the international media, to the hotbed of the insurgency - Maiduguri, Konduga, Kaure and Bama. Let me remind you that, until just four months ago, Bama was the headquarters of the self-declared Caliphate of Boko Haram. It was the war's Ground Zero, from where the terrorists called the shots, collected taxes and dispensed jungle justice. The palace of the Emir of Bama, whom they sacked, was their operational headquarters. Also, Konduga was attacked several times by the insurgents who wanted to use it as a staging post to attack Maiduguri.

Today, I can report to you that the entire 70 plus kilometre stretch from Maiduguri to Bama and all the way to Banki (which leads to Cameroon and the Central African Republic) are in the hands of our gallant troops. Our soldiers' presence can be felt every few metres along the road that skirts the Sambisa Forest. At a point along that road, we were just about two kilometres to the Sambisa Forest, which is continuously being pounded by our dedicated and patriotic military.

That brings me to the issue of the Dec. 31st 2015 deadine issued by President Muhammadu Buhari to our military to defeat the terrorists. Gentlemen, based on what I saw during my trip to the liberated areas of Borno State (which by the way is the epicentre of the war) and the briefings I received from the Chief of Defence Staff and the Theatre Commander, I can confidently inform you that our gallant military has largely met that deadline. They have so degraded the capability of Boko Haram that the terrorists can no longer carry out any spectacular attacks. Remember, gentlemen, that at the height of the war, Boko Haram controlled 20 of the 27 local governments in Borno.

I can hear you saying to yourself: But the terrorists are still carrying out suicide bombings and killing people. My response to that is that such is the nature of insurgency anywhere. Unlike a war between two armies, an insurgency never ends with an armistice. Even in countries like Colombia where insurgency was supposed to have ended decades ago, attacks still happen.

The largely defeated Boko Haram has now adopted a new style: attacking soft targets like motor parks, schools, entertainment centres, religious centres, etc, killing innocent people, mostly women and children. They have capitalized on the missing part of the war on terrorism: the civilian component. Our military has availed itself creditably. It is our turn, as civilians, to give them our unalloyed support, to realize that what they are fighting is not their war but our war, hence we must own the war.

To fill that gap, we have commenced a national security campaign to raise awareness among Nigerians about the war, about the sacrifice of our troops that has seen the terrorists largely defeated and about how to finally stamp out the remnant of the war, which is suicide bombing. As I speak, jingles are being played on national radio and television as part of this campaign. Also, in order to keep the media better informed about the war, so that they can also better inform Nigerians, we will soon inaugurate an ad hoc committee comprising media representatives as well as representatives of the military and intelligence agencies. This committee will meet from time to time for background briefings that will give the media a better perspective of the war.

Gentlemen, in this time of war, you cannot afford to be neutral. Yes, you must remain professional at all times, and we are not asking you to do anything less, but you must also act in the national interest always. Acting in the national interest means not playing up the reports of the cowardly Boko Haram attacks on soft targets. Acting in the national interest means not regurgitating the propaganda of Boko Haram and its fellow terrorist group, ISIS. Acting in the national interest means extolling the bravery and sacrifice of our gallant troops. Acting in the national interest means not viewing the war from a partisan prism. Acting in the national interest means rallying all Nigerians, irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic background, to support the war. It is not a war of the North. It is not a war of any religion. It is our war.

Already, as the Dec. 31st deadline nears, Boko Haram and ISIS have launched their propaganda seeking to discredit the Nigerian military, to give the impression that they (terrorists) are still holding sway. A report in that regard was widely published in our newspapers a few days ago. This is not true. Boko Haram is dispersed and largely defeated. The insurgents are hungry, they are sick and they are desparate and will clutch at any straw. Don't let us prop them up with our reports. In the days ahead, they will release propaganda videos through their usual channels, we must not give this any play because it is nothing but a hoax.

And, as we report on the Dec. 31st headline, let us situate our reports in the context that I have provided: The military has largely met the deadline and are now involved in mop-up and humanitarian operations, the attacks on soft targets will not end with the deadline, but it will taper off gradually, in line with the nature of insurgency worldwide. These attacks do not constitute victory for the insurgents but represent the death pangs of a fading insurgency.

Gentlemen, we need peace before we can even practice our professions. We need peace before we can meaningfully revive our economy. We need peace for our democracy to thrive. Boko Haram is the very antithesis of peace. Boko Haram must be wiped out not just through military might but with the support and efforts of all of us.

I thank you for listening