tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post7100480239781788916..comments2023-10-03T10:06:43.840-07:00Comments on ICHEOKU: AMNESTY TO BOKO HARAM, JONATHAN IS A LISTENING PRESIDENT.EBEKUOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12634012877434160861noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post-59177855801871152062013-04-08T23:36:55.004-07:002013-04-08T23:36:55.004-07:00Boko Haram: Ball Now In Northern Govs’ Court - Ali...Boko Haram: Ball Now In Northern Govs’ Court - Aliyu<br /><br />Tue, 09/04/2013 - 1:20am | ABU NMODU Cover Stories News<br /><br />The governor of Niger State and chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has said that with the federal government’s seemingly favourable disposition to granting amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect, state governors where the group operates should unmask the members and make them embrace the offer.<br /><br /> At the opening of a week-long in-house workshop on the review of the 2006 population and housing census in Minna, the state capital, yesterday, Aliyu said the governors must help to provide the needed environment for the implementation of the proposed amnesty programme.<br /><br /> He said the decision of the government to commence an amnesty scheme for members of the sect had shown that the government accommodates the suggestions of people and was a welcome development that should be allowed to work.<br /><br /> The governor maintained that unmasking the Boko Haram members in the states would enable the government to have discussions with the real actors in the protracted violence and not “ghosts”.<br /><br /> “We should unmask the ghosts so that we can talk to human beings and not ghosts”, he stated.<br /><br /> While declaring that amnesty was not the only solution to the prevailing crisis in the country, the governor said, “We must look at other angles to give Nigerians peace.”<br /><br /> Governor Aliyu urged Nigerians to support President Jonathan in the onerous task of finding solution to the security problems facing Nigeria, adding that no matter how well a population is planned and executed, without a peaceful environment the figures would come to nothing.<br /><br /> On previous censuses conducted in the country, he said the results were not accepted by the majority of Nigerians because of irregularities perpetrated by officials of the National Population Commission (NPC) and community leaders.<br /><br /> He therefore suggested that, as the country prepares for the 2016 census, all bottlenecks that could hinder its smooth conduct should be addressed.<br /><br /> “We want to know how many Christians and Muslims we have, we want to know the number of schools and hospitals that we require; our census should go beyond just counting the number of people in the country,” he stated.<br /><br /> The chairman of the NPC, Eze Francis Odumegwu, said that the workshop was designed to bring together the participants to reflect on the experiences and challenges of the 2006 population and housing census for proper evaluation.EBEKUOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12634012877434160861noreply@blogger.com