The federal government said Monday that that all necessary things are in place to ensure the security of all Nigerians, especially school children.
Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, who disclosed this to State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, said there would no longer be instances of abduction of school children.
He said government is not unaware of possible plans by the insurgents to sabotage with intents to embarrass the government.The minister had led a high-powered federal government delegation to Zamfara state to assess the abduction of school children and sympathise with the government and people of the state.
He said the president had been putting plans in place to ensure that his assurance of security and safe schooling does not fail.“To answer your question that those who do not mean well for the country, they can try to do it to embarrass government, by government saying it will be the last, by the grace of God.
“It’s a possibility, but what Mr. President is doing, and his government, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, has done everything possible to ensure safe schools. “It has recently rejigged the national security architecture and it’s an ongoing exercise and everything that is possible to stop this, government is putting it in place, and by special grace of God, it should be the last this country will see. “Yes, there may be a possibility that some people will try to do it to embarrass government, but government has the resources to continue to give the best in terms of security in this country. We think, and we hope, but especially by the grace of God, that this will be the last that we’ll see in this country,” he said.
On the security arrangements to make schools safe, the minister said: “First and foremost, like I said, the government has put things in place to ensure safe schools, in partnership with the sub-nationals, in partnership with the people that are localised in those environments, including intelligence gathering, information gathering, you know, and then supply of equipment and weapons and so on, so forth, training and retraining of security personnel.”Everything that is humanly possible by any government to put in place, to ensure security of lives and property, is being put together to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Like I said, it’s an ongoing thing and government is committed to it and will continue to do so.”
Asked what gives him the impression that the government can make Nigeria safe for all, the minister said: “I think we forget so quickly. There has been a time in this country when governance even became terribly impossible. A section of this country is hoisting another flag. We can’t go to our churches or mosques. We can’t go to schools. We can’t go about doing our normal businesses. “This issue of insecurity and the bombings that we have seeing started right here at the centre of Abuja. There were moments when there were security checkpoints everywhere you went. There were moments when you couldn’t go to work, we couldn’t farm. A city of 10 million people in Kano, their rode through the 10 million people and got to the Emir of Kano and shot him. an Emir that reigned for 50 years. “They bombed the Central Mosque of Kano, a thousand people died. Those are things of the past. Security challenges are things that are all over the world, in every single country. All the way to recent happenings that we’re seeing in the US and UK and everywhere. “You can get mugged on the streets in the UK, you can get slaughtered also, but the important thing is, is government doing something? Yes, it is? Is government committed? Truly, it is committed. “Don’t forget, the present President could be a civilian President, but he’s a true Commander-in-Chief and he had been there before and he’s doing his best. I am sure if you’ll do justice to this government, you’ll say it is do much better than it was before.”
