Chibok girls and all Nigerians that the girls are still alive and his
government was doing everything possible to rescue them.
The president who spoke when he appeared on a Live Discussion
programme on an African Independent Television (AIT), Kaakaki
monitored in Abuja hinged his optimism on the assumption that had the
girls been killed, the terrorists would have publicly displayed their
corpses in order to induce fear.
In the over one hour programme, President Jonathan who was appearing
on a Nigerian Television station for the first time apart from the
government owned Nigerian Television Authority spoke on a wide range
of issues including his chances of being re-elected in the forth
coming election.
President Jonathan admitted during the programme that government under
rated the capacity of the Boko Haram sect and this explains why they
are so entrenched.
According to the President, with the increased capacity of the
military which has taken possession of more than 65 percent of the
platform needed to prosecute the war, the remaining territories still
under the control of the terrorists would soon be recaptured.
Speaking on why the girls have not been recovered despite the gains
recorded by the military, the president said its is because
"reasonable territories are still in the hands of Boko Haram.
"We promised that we must get the girls. The good story is that they
have not killed them because the terrorists, when they kill, they
display. They use it to intimidate the whole society. They girls are
alive. We will get the girls. Luckily, we are narrowing down the area
of their control. So, we will get them" he said.
President Jonathan said "at the beginning, probably we did not really
(correctly) estimate the capacity of Boko Haram. It is obvious. Boko
Haram started as a non-violent group led by Yusuf, limited to around
Maiduguri area, Yobe. They did not even get to Adamawa.
"Just like every group of youths or young people is inclined to
criminality, over the period, they expanded their network and linked
up with other terrorist organizations like in the North Africa like
Al-Qaeda and other similar brands in the world.
"So, they continued to build their capacity and it got to point to
know that for you to tackle them in the kind of environment they
operate, you need some specialized equipment to use and we don't
manufacture these equipment now. That is why the movement has changed.
So, it is not deliberate," he said.
Speaking on the forthcoming election, President Jonathan admitted that
he is facing a stiffer opposition than he faced in 2011 but expressed
confidence that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be victorious.
He said: "I agree with you it was easier (in 2011) but PDP is still
the dominant party. There is no polling unit in Nigeria where you
don't have members of the PDP.
"Yes, for one reason or the other, within the party people get angry
and may even vote against PDP but in terms of membership of the PDP,
there is no party that has that spread.
"So, PDP still has the most formidable structure, PDP has better
chances of winning a national election."
"Even the opposition will tell you if they are realistic. Who has
strengthened the opposition? Are they not the PDP elements? If you
remove the PDP elements from the opposition, they will just crumble
like a pack of cards.
"Why are people aggressive towards the PDP to the extent that even the
presidential convoyed is stoned? Why do you show that aggression? If
you are comfortable, you will not do that" he said.
He however added that what he is facing is not unusual because
globally, second term election is more challenging.
"Globally, it is more challenging for a president to secure a second
term than the first tenure," because people get disappointed when
there expectations are not quickly met by those they voted for.
PDP still has an edge over the opposition."
On the fuel scarcity being experienced in some parts of the country,
President Jonathan said government has taken necessary steps to bring
it to an end.
"For the fuel scarcity, we are doing everything humanly possible to
ensure it is taken care of. It is very temporary. Of course, there
issues of payment being addressed and we believe that within one or
two day, this will completely go" he said.
Read more at Vanguard:
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