The minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday, disagreed with the notion that Boko Haram and Islam are linked together.
He said that calling the Boko Haram an Islamic group gives the terrorists some form of legitimacy which they so desperately desire and alienates a majority of Muslims across the world who he said feel branded in a negative way.
He insisted that neither the Boko Haram sect nor the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is Islamic.
The minister, while speaking in Abuja at a workshop on conflict sensitive communications and reporting, stated that the Boko Haram is against democracy as a system of government, rejects the constitution, sees legislation as usurping the powers of God, kills any uniformed personnel they come across, kills Muslims and Christians and is linked to ISIS, which he said enslaves and promotes violence against the weak, abusing the tenets of a religion they claim to belong.
The minister noted that the country is facing numerous challenges at this time which included terrorism, widespread corruption, poverty and economic challenges but said that “the good news is that Nigerians across faiths, tribes, age groups and income levels have made a choice to break from the past and embrace a future free from insecurity, corruption and poverty.”
With the choice, Alhaji Mohammed noted that difficult but necessary paths to opportunities have opened up, promising to defeat terrorism, free public funds from the web of corruption and put the people back to economic prosperity.
He said, “We are not alone on this path. Across the globe, Nigeria – under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari – continues to enjoy the goodwill and support of big nations and organisations, all of which want to see us free from the scourge of terrorism and corruption.