Yobe massacre one too many, says Tinubu

•‘Nigeria is under attack”
Former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu yesterday reflected on the killing of
over 40 students by suspected Boko Haram
terrorists in Yobe State. He described it a “one
massacre too many”
In a statement from his media office, the All
Progressives Congress (APC) leader said
“Nigeria is under attack.”
The statement, which is a follow up to a letter
he wrote to Yobe State Governor Ibrahim
Gaidam, said:
“As a father and leader, I am deeply saddened
by the senseless killings of innocent students.
It is unacceptable and indefensible under any
guise. It is an act that must be punished.
“The recent carnage in Borno State and now at
the College of Agriculture in Yobe reminds us
of the sinister nature of the enemy our nation
now faces.
“There should be no mistake at this sombre
moment. Those who launched these attacks did
not launch them at the people they killed.
They knew not the names of their victims or
who they were.
“The dead were just unfortunate souls who
happened to be close enough to murder. The
real targets of these massacres were our
nation, society and any semblance of civilized,
modern life. Nigeria is under attack and the
earlier those in charge realised this, the
quicker the situation can be arrested. In terms
of security, the present is not safe, neither is
the future secured.
“The killings at the College of Agriculture were
particularly jarring. Under cover of darkness,
evil crept unto a campus of higher learning,
turning it into a place of slaughter.
“These murderers snatched the lives of young
people who were just entering the fullness of
life. The attackers fell upon them so early that
many of the students were still in bed.
“These young people only wanted an education
to improve their future and that of the nation.
They were armed only with this desire and with
the tools of students. They had done no one
any harm.
“Yet, their attackers executed them in the
cruelest fashion.  This is terror in its basest
form. By this act, the crazed and armed
menace we face tells us that attending school,
attempting to get an education, is now a
capital offence. Those guilty of seeking to learn
are to be executed.
“This is a dire affront to fundamental
humanity. It is also a frontal attack on our
quest for economic development and social
progress. Those that did this seek to cast a veil
of fear and ignorance over Nigeria. We must
remain steadfast in the belief that
enlightenment and progress is best for our
people.
“These killers want us to hide in the shadow of
fear and live in the cave of ignorance. We must
be brave enough to tell them “no.” No matter
how they try to frighten us, we shall walk in
the light of learning, justice, hope and
tolerance, unity and progress.
“What we face is nothing less than a contest
for the soul of the nation. We dare not lose
the contest. These young people died just
because they wanted to learn and live better.
We can’t allow their deaths to be in vain.
“Thus, we must rededicate ourselves that all of
our children shall learn and live better because
of the education they shall receive.
“We must look beyond the deaths and spilled
blood of these innocent children. In times like
these, it is easy to give up and recede into our
fears. Yet, we must be of good courage. We
must not give way to sorrow or despair. We
must forge ahead with our best plans and
preparations for the people.”
That said, we must beseech the federal
government to tend better to our security. I
make this not as a partisan jab. I make this as
a Nigerian who sees the larger danger lurking
behind these attacks. These murderers seek to
shutter the educational system in the north.
Should they accomplish this, they will only
attack another social institution, then another,
until all are flattened. They intend to make
Nigeria desolate. In their warped minds, this
will be paradise. Paradise for them will be
purgatory for the rest of us.
With grim determination that Nigeria shall
overcome this pestilence and that justice shall
ultimately prevail, we cannot give up and
retreat from the task of governance and
building this nation. We must be of good
courage. We cannot allow their violence to
dictate the path that we must go.
They see a nation they want to destroy. I see a
nation we should build. We shall win. They
may have guns and terror. But they lack the
moral force to stop us from building the
nation we seek. We have justice and right. We
shall win.  They shall lose and get swept into
the wash of history.  The only issue is how
long will it take and how many lives will be lost
before this evil folds. Again, this is where the
federal government must become more
proactive in developing a comprehensive law
enforcement, intelligence-gathering and
economic incentives strategy that checkmate
this plague.
On such a grave matter of national security,
there is no partisanship. We are all Nigerians.
We stand ready to help in this fight. We await
the call of the Federal Government to do so.
Our condolences are extended to the governor
of Yobe, the people of the state, and the
families of those killed. Your grief is heavy and
thick because of the senselessness of this
tragedy. But you don’t carry this grief alone.
All Nigeria grieves with you. Those were our
children, too”.
Source: thenation