Boko Haram attacks: Atiku holds press conference, says situation is grave

Former VP Atiku Abubakar who is from Adamawa
state, one of the worst hit by Boko Haram, held
a press conference today November 3rd at the
Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja where he
addressed the attacks of the sect members on
Mubi and other towns in northern Nigeria. Atiku
described the current situation as grave and
appealed to the international community to come
to Nigeria's aid. Full text of his speech after the
cut...
Gentlemen of the Press:
It is with deep regret that I came to learn that
Mubi, which is one the largest towns in
Adamawa State of northeast Nigeria, has been
taken by the terrorist group commonly known as
Boko Haram. As you may know, in recent weeks
and months, Mubi has been a town to which
displaced persons from further north have fled for
safety after their communities fell to Boko
Haram. As I speak, the inhabitants of Mubi,
together with those who went there for safety,
find themselves at the mercy of this terrorist
group.
I am Nigerian. I believe in the integrity of
Nigeria as a whole, and every part of this
country matters to me. But I was born and bred
in the northeast. So, please, excuse me if I
should say a few words about the part of the
country where I am from, about what the people
from the northeast of Nigeria have had to suffer
for far, far too long.
Things should never have got to this stage.
Thousands of Nigerians have had to flee their
homes. Their houses and farms have been
destroyed. They do not know where to go or
how to restart their lives. That is the degree to
which we have come in this country. I say this
with reluctance and with shame. The situation in
which we find ourselves today is grave. Much of
Borno, and the north of Adamawa and Yobe
states is already at the mercy of the terrorists.
It started a few months ago with Bama, which is
nearly 400 kilometres from Yola, capital of
Adamawa State.
The next major town to be taken by terrorists
was Gwoza, where a terrorist caliphate flag has
long been hoisted. Smaller towns near Gwoza
such as Pulka and Limankra are equally not
free. Next was Madagali. The town is still being
occupied. Then fell Gulak. Next was Michika,
then Bazza. Next was the twin town of Uba
which is half Adamawa and half Bornu. Its
neighboring town of Lassa was also overrun.
Uba was the latest town captured before the
terrorists trampled on Mubi. People from these
troubled areas are now pouring into Yola for
safety.
As somebody who hails from Adamawa State,
you can appreciate why I feel such emotion at
the fate of my people. For whatever reason,
our defence forces are unable to cope and unable
to defend. My sympathies go out to the soldiers
who find themselves in a situation not of their
making. This is a crisis of leadership.
We were told that the budget for security was
going to be enlarged so that the security
agencies and military would be in a better
position to tackle the insurgency. How is it
possible that a great nation like Nigeria should
find itself in a situation where a handful of
terrorists is able to invade a town as large as
Mubi with a population of about 300,000? How
were the insurgents able to so easily take a
town of this size, and the people find themselves
defenseless and undefended? How is it that the
people have been made to suffer as they have?
I have previously spoken about the deteriorating
security situation in this country on a number of
occasions. On those occasions I deliberately
restrained myself from speaking in a manner that
might be construed as distracting the
government and the security forces as they
grappled with the dire security situation. But the
scale of injustice the people of Nigeria are
suffering has reached a stage where I am obliged
to amplify my concerns.
Many of our citizens, unable to come to terms
with why a so-called “Africa’s best army” has
been unable to confront this horrendous
situation, are increasingly assuming that this
whole thing is about electoral politics. They
suspect that the seeming inability of the
government to end the crisis is a ploy to weaken
some parts of the country ahead of the 2015
elections. Can we, in all honesty, blame them for
having those suspicions?
I call upon the international community to help
us. I am making a special appeal to countries
with sufficient knowhow and experience in
tackling terrorism to increase their assistance to
us.
The relief agencies that are already working here
should please double their efforts. And all people
of goodwill should help in any way they can and
to do more than they have been doing to
alleviate the pain and suffering that we Nigerians
face through this insurgency.  At a time when we
are constantly bombarded with horror stories of
ugly events elsewhere in the world – here in
West Africa, we are faced with the Ebola
epidemic and other trouble spots – I draw your
attention to a humanitarian crisis which is also a
matter of international security.
This Boko Haram insurgency has been with us
now for several years but has, in these last few
days, taken a step further towards being a
disaster of unimaginable proportions. Hundreds
of thousands of people are at risk. Nigeria
needs the world’s support. The world must not
abandon Nigerians in our time of need.
Thank you.