Nigeria’s main opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on Sunday took the federal government to task over the series of deadly violence that has hit Africa’s most populous nation in recent times, asking: ‘Is anyone still in charge of Nigeria?’
In a statement issued in Lagos and obtained by PANA, ACN said the latest of such violence – a blast that ripped through a market in a military barracks in the capital city of Abuja on New Year’s Eve, killing four – occurred because the government had failed to find and punish those responsible for similar incidents in the past.
‘We cannot but ask: Is anyone still in charge of Nigeria or have we surrendered the country to anarchists? Is the government still able to meet its first obligation to the people, which is to ensure their welfare and security? For how long can we continue like this, allowing innocent men, women and children to be killed and maimed by end-gamers who are becoming more and more emboldened by the day as the government continues to bumble and waffle?’ ACN queried.
The party said Nigerians were ‘sick and tired of hearing the same refrain, ‘we shall fish out and bring to justice those behind this’, when perpetrators of previous killings have largely gone unpunished’.
‘Never in the history of Nigeria have the people being subjected to the kind of violence that is reigning supreme under the (ruling Peoples Democratic Party) PDP. It is indeed a double tragedy that a government that cannot even provide for the people is also unable to ensure their security. Having failed woefully, it is time for the PDP-government at all levels to be kicked out through the forthcoming general elections,’ the party said.
Nigeria is due to hold general elections this year, and there are fears the spiralling violence could truncate the polls.
On Christmas Eve, at least 80 people were killed in the northern city of Jos, when explosions rocked several parts of the Plateau state capital. On the same day, six persons died when suspected Islamists attacked three churches in Northern Maiduguri.
President Jonathan has said there is a link between the Christmas Eve attacks and the Abuja explosion.
Last week, a ward congress of the PDP in South-west Oyo state erupted in violence, leading to several deaths and injuries.
Poking fun at the PDP, the ACN said ‘it is doubtful whether a party that cannot even organise a violence-free congress can preside overa free, fair and violence free national election.’
The opposition party therefore urged President Jonathan to ‘consult other parties outside the PDP as well as individuals and groups to find a way out of the seeming quagmire’.