A Christian group, under the auspices of Northern Political Youth Christian Forum has claimed that it has uncovered plots by some Nigerian politicians to scuttle the ongoing war against insurgency in north eastern part of the country.
The youth arm of the organization said the politicians have contacted some members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to cause mayhem in the already-troubled region.
Addressing newsmen in Jos, the Plateau State capital on Thursday, Zephaniah Abui, National Coordinator of the group said the people have also perfected plans to use the CJTF to disrupt the visit of the Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh to Borno State as part of efforts
He said, “We are aware that the disruption is being planned to appear spontaneous whereas it is clearly sponsored for some dark purposes.”
While condemning the development in its entirety as the height of irresponsibility, NCPYF said the alleged plots portray the dismal low to which the sense of propriety has sunk among leaders who would do anything to massage their ego while the larger population of citizens are left to suffer.
Abui said, “It is most unfortunate that the power brokers in Borno State and some parts of the north as represented by the Borno State government have not learnt from their past misadventures in allowing Boko Haram to emerge, fester and became a plague to the entire nation even though the north suffered most.
“We use this opportunity to remind Nigerians and indeed the entire world of the fact that Boko Haram Terror group is a product of politicians arming youths against their opponents. From the experiences, we have been through it can be categorically stated that such enterprise has never ended well. We are consequently at a loss as to what the incentive of the Borno state government is at this time for being involved in such a dastardly plot.
“We issue this timely warning because this was the same way “ECOMOG”, a ragtag group of street urchins, was exploited for political use and ultimately led to the emergence of Boko Haram. It is a mistake that is on the verge of being repeated with the incitement of the Borno CJTF members to harass a visiting minister and to equally carry out other activities in furtherance of their plots to sustain the existence of Boko Haram in the country. What other dirty assignment would the state government have for these youths next?”
Abui added that the crux of the briefing was to draw the attention of the law enforcement agencies to the activities of these politicians who wished to hijack the CJTF for their selfish reasons.
He added, “The visit of the Minister to Borno State is one of the strategies they have hatched to further their agenda in the next few days to sabotage the war against insurgency. The plot, as we gathered, involves inciting the CJTF members to disrupt the Minister’s visit and thereafter use the ensuing chaos as a cover for straggling Boko Haram fighters to regroup. Even more frightening is their expectation that any CJTF member arrested in contrived fracas would be detained alongside Boko Haram hardliners who will then radicalize the arrested persons.”
He further called on members of the CJTF to resist any invitation to anarchy since those pitching this deranged plot to them have other hidden plans that involve great suffering for anyone that allowed themselves to be used.
“Instead of causing confusion, anyone that meets with the Chief Audu Ogbe should rather listen to learn which of the many interventions he has unveiled in other states can be replicated in Borno as a first step towards re-establishing the state as an agricultural power-house as opposed to provoking a fresh circle of violence,” he tasked them.
