A group known as the United Alliance has called on President Goodluck Jonathan not to negotiate with Boko Haram over the missing school girls.
The United Alliance said Boko Haram was a machinery set up by Northern elite to protest the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as leader of the country in the 2011 elections. They said the sponsors of Boko Haram were suddenly in a hurry to negotiate because they risked exposure as American intelligence officers were now on ground.
The position of the group was made known in a statement released in Abuja by its Northern co-ordinator, Mallam Bashir Ado.
The group said, “We are aware that this terrorist group is an agenda of those who believe that ruling Nigeria is their birthright and we are seriously against the government negotiating with them.
“The Boko Haram insurgents should be treated as the criminals that they are when eventually caught.”
It added, “The disappearance of the girls is part of the Northern elders’ agenda to embarrass and distract the Goodluck Jonathan government.
“They deliberately took the girls away to create an impression of insecurity and paint the picture that nobody is safe in the country, whereas they are the architect of these self-inflicted wounds aimed at distracting a working government.”
“Those who claimed to have been born to rule should direct their energy at how to ensure that the unity of the country is maintained in diversity instead of constantly embarrassing themselves in the name of jostling for power.”
“It is high time our leaders in the North came to terms with the reality that these self-inflicted havoc would continue to deplete the value of Northerners and eventually rob us of our place in the Nigeria nation.”
“We are closely monitoring developments in our dear country especially as it affects the activities of the terrorist group, Boko Haram and the position of some people that President Jonathan should negotiate with the terrorists.”