The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Progressive Governors Forum, (PGF), Dr. Salihu Moh Lukman, has declared that nothing else could have confirmed that bandits are terrorists than the recent attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train.
He angrily chided Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, for; “irresponsibly mobilising opposition against declaring bandits’ terrorists, emphasising that bandits like terrorists are people that threaten the lives of innocent citizens.
In a statement he issued, titled; ‘Nigeria’s insecurity and communication problems’, Lukman also frowned at the damning publication in London magazine, The Economist, arguing that there were several misrepresentations of facts.
Reacting further, the PGF DG warned that; “it is very easy to reduce these challenges to commentaries and opinion analysis. Those who aspire to use the security challenges facing Nigeria to gain cheap recognition or political advantages may want to create doubts about the ability of the Nigerian Armed Forces to fight bandits or the effectiveness of the current strategy with all its successes”.
While challenging the leadership of his party and the federal government, he wrote: “Criticisms and campaigns against APC and President Muhammadu Buhari is hardly supported with alternative proposals. This is the main reason any defense of APC and President Buhari’s policy initiative is being equated to supporting ‘imposition of Fulani hegemony on Nigerians’ even by some supporters of APC leaders. The public debate then becomes highly toxic. The fundamental question, which must be asked is, how is APC responding to these developments?
“This is not about propaganda. It is about the future of the country and about the commitment of APC leaders to facilitate initiatives that can support Nigerians to restore citizens’ humanity based on the application of knowledge to shape public debates in the country”, Lukman highlighted in the statement.
