We must not play politics with national security – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the only way to tackle insecurity in the country is through collective fight and unity. Jonathan said this in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital on Monday, where he declared open the Senate 2012 retreat entitled: “National Assembly and National Security” He said, “whatever the causes of our current security challenges are, the solutions lie in our stronger union as a nation. “If God does not will it, we would not live together today as a country of Muslims, Christians and traditionalists, and as a people of different ethnic groups. If God does not will it, there would be no Nigeria. Our unity is the will of God and our diversity is the defining ligament of our strength. Let’s unite to defeat the forces of darkness,” the president added. Speaking further, he said: “I commend men and women of the Nigerian Armed Forces, the
police, the State Security Service and others for their resilience and professionalism in combating terrorism. Several have lost their lives in the defence of our nation. To assure the security and safety of our people and to safeguard our national oneness, I will continue to reorganise and re-position our security apparatus. “Nigerians deserve a country that is peaceful and secure. As elected leaders, our primary responsibility is to protect all our citizens and those who come here to live with us,” the president said. “Inflammatory statements emanating from some politicians have, at different times, consumed thousands of innocent lives and threatened our foundation as a nation. The enemies of our democracy have continued to carry out terrorist attacks on innocent people of our nation. This development particularly concerns me and I will continue to deal with it. “National security requires that we continue to tackle corruption at all levels. All the arms of government must work together to fight corruption. We must not take the patience of our people for granted. Now is the time to reclaim our place on the table of stability and progress. “This is a trying time for us as a nation. The challenge of terrorism must unite us in the task of building a greater country. We are a government with one constituency of the Nigerian people. We must not play politics with everything, and certainly not with matters of national security,” Jonathan added. “I believe that through the co-operation of the executive, legislature and judiciary, we will surely bring Boko Haram to an end,” said the president. “We need to have budgets that are implementable. Sometimes, funds are put to where they are not to be spent. We must emphasise on our priority needs. We don’t need to quarrel about budgets at all,” he said
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