FG says Jonathan presence in Kano was a loud statement that terrorism cannot stop governance

The Federal Government on Wednesday said President Goodluck Jonathan’s presence at a Peoples Democratic Party’s rally in Kano State on Tuesday was a loud statement to terrorists that they could not succeed in their bid to stop government from working. Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting. Barely 24 hours after a bomb explosion killed 75 people in Nyanya, a satellite town in Abuja, Jonathan had led party chiefs to Kano where they received former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, who recently defected to the party. The development drew the ire of many Nigerians, including the All Progressives Congress who accused the President of being insensitive. But Maku said the President’s critics were not fair in their judgment. He recalled that Jonathan had on the day of the incident called off his planned trip to Ibadan for the centenary birthday of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Odulana Odugade. He added that the President visited the scene of the incident personally to assess the situation. He argued that Jonathan himself had suffered psychologicallyby the acts which he claimed was meant to demoralise and destabilise the government. The minister argued that terrorists would continue to unleash violence on the country once they know that government stops working any time they strike. He urged politicians to stop exploiting the nation’s darkest moment to score cheap political points. He said, “You will notice that whenever there is any significant story, something will just come negatively. So the purpose is to demoralise, disrupt government, society and to set people against each other and create paralysis. “So if we are to say we will do nothing because of the strike, then it means that terrorists would have successes in putting a stall each time they strike on our country. “Going to Kano was a loud statement that terrorists will not stop this country from moving and from working. “On the day it happened, the President had already suspended all his activities and focused on it. Politicians will still want to exploit even the most dark moment for political advantage and this is what we should not do. “We should not be exploiting the emotions of citizens for cheap political points. People will use everything including murder, including trauma like what we have gone through to score cheap political points and this is really very sad. “Politicians must not exploit the suffering of people just to score cheap political points. “The President is mourning and is already working with everybody and with every institution to ensure that we not only meet the needs of the living and care for those who have survived but continuously work to perfect our security architecture to ensure greater safety of Nigerians.