Big Drama As Jonathan Pays Surprise Visit To Borno

Twenty-nine days to the general election, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday paid his first visit in over two years to Maiduguri, the capital of the war-torn Borno State capital, to sympathise with victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.

The president also met with troops of the Nigeria Army during the visit. Though the presidential visit appeared unplanned, it, however, came with some drama that almost made nonsense of the very essence of the three-hour visit

One of the dramatic moments, apart from the shutdown of vehicular movement in the state capital, occurred at one of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps visited by the president when the Borno State government accused the federal government-owned National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) of insensitivity to the plight of the IDPs of Baga.

Borno State deputy governor Zannah Mustapha, who is the state’s chairman of all IDPs camps, had in his speech accused NEMA of only showing up with relief items when the president was to visit the state.

Zannah told the president in his welcome remark: “Mr President, we are surprised to see NEMA here today because, since this incident, NEMA had not shown up here to assist the IDPs with relief materials. Only the Borno State government was left to shoulder the responsibility of catering for all the IDPs.”

The deputy governor went further to enumerate how the state had been shouldering most of federal government’s responsibilities despite its obvious challenges.

The deputy governor’s accusation almost stirred a controversy as NEMA officials tried to counter the allegations, but they were stopped by the president who rather called for cooperation amongst the three tiers of government.

Jonathan said: “This is not the time for trading blames; the federal government, the states and the local governments are all one and the same government working for the same Nigerians. The deputy governor must understand that we are one, and our ultimate goal is the welfare of the IDPs.

“The federal government is very much concerned about your situation here and I assure you all that, very soon, you will all return to your homes in Bama, Gubio, Ngala and Baga.”

He appealed to the IDPs and the local authorities to be patient and to cooperate with NEMA and other emergency aid agencies which had been directed to cater for their welfare.(Leadership)