A top chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Ambassador Shuni Ladan has said that Boko Haram is not designed by Northern leaders to frustrate President Goodluck Jonathan’s government. He said contrary to popular political opinion, the North wants Jonathan to succeed.
Ladan said Boko Haram is a part of the global menace of terrorism that took Nigeria by surprise.
His words: “Let me tell you that Boko Haram is anti-Islam, no northerner or Muslim is supporting Boko Haram in the name of Islam, and we should not forget that Boko Haram did not start with President Jonathan’s government, this problem started during the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua’s administration.
“If North destabilizes Jonathan’s government, the whole country will be destabilized, and I don’t think any sensible person would like to destabilize the whole country.
“So, people should stop this wrong impression that North is behind Boko Haram in order to destabilise Jonathan’s regime, no, there is nothing like that. North is solidly behind him, and North is doing everything possible to see to the end of the insurgency.
“The insurgency has caused serious setback on economy of the North, so why will the North support such criminal activities. North is not praying for Jonathan’s failure because the country belongs to all of us, and not only Jonathan”.
However the Executive Secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria in 19 Northern States, Professor Daniel Babayi disagreed with Ladan.
In a separate interview, Babayi said, “The objective of Boko Haram is to eliminate western civilization from the country, and you know that Christianity is all about civilization, and that is why they want to get to Jonathan by all means and eliminate him.
“So, whoever tells you that Boko Haram is not designed to remove President Jonathan is not telling the truth, so the insurgency is aggravating everyday because Jonathan is still the President”.