Jonathan seeks $1bn loan to fight insurgency

President Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday, asked the National Assembly to approve an external loan of $1 billion to aid the government’s war against insurgency.

The president, in a letter dated July 15, 2014, said the approval of the loan would help the country in the fight against terrorism.

In the letter, addressed to the Senate President, David Mark, and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, entitled: “Tackling ongoing security challenges: Need for urgent action,” President Jonathan, however, did not give details of the country where the money is being sourced.

The National Assembly had, earlier in the year, approved the sum of N968.127 billion for the Ministry of Defence in the 2014 budget.

“You are no doubt cognisant of the ongoing and serious security challenges which the nation is facing, as typified by the Boko Haram terrorist treat.

“I would like to bring to your attention the urgent need to upgrade the equipment, training and logistic of our Armed Forces and security services, to enable them to confront this serious threat,” the letter read.

Meanwhile,  Lieutenant-general Theophilus Danjuma, on Wednesday, said his committee will go to Sambisa forest in Borno State if President Goodluck Jonathan leads.

He said this during the inauguration of Victims Support Fund Committee, inaugurated by President Jonathan, in Abuja.

Chairman of the committee, Lieutenant-General Danjuma, warned that the insurgents appeared to be having the upper hand, stressing the need for government to promptly win the war.

He assured that the committee was prepared to do everything except going into Sambisa forest.

“One thing we will not do is to go to Sambisa forest. The commander-in-chief will lead and we will follow,” he said.

Earlier, President Jonathan had, while inaugurating the committee, said his government owed Nigerians victory in the war against terror.

Speaking during the ceremony, shortly before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in State House, Abuja, Jonathan observed that since 2009, Boko Haram had brought evil to the country, destroying innocent lives and property at random.

“We owe Nigerians nothing but victory over terror. The life of every Nigerian is precious and we will continue to work round the clock to put an end to this insurgency,” he said.

Jonathan said the committee was part of the ongoing efforts to provide a comprehensive solution to terror menace, while stressing the determination of his administration to resolve the crisis.

According to him, the menace of terrorism had emerged as one of the most complex and challenging problems confronting governments in different parts of the world.

“Terrorists aim to cause social dislocation, spread fear and panic among the populace and disrupt government activities. But they never win.

“They have not won in the Middle East, the United States, China, Colombia, Italy, United Kingdom, Kenya, etc and they will not win in Nigeria.

“With the support of all Nigerians, we would ensure they do not win in Nigeria. Good must prevail over evil,” he said.

Lamenting the activities of the terrorists, he said “they have, in their mission, turned women to widows and reduced children to orphans.

“They have killed and maimed and struck fear into law-abiding citizens. They have destroyed villages, attacked property and terminated people’s livelihoods without a care in the world. They have engaged our security agencies in a meaningless warfare that has wasted unimaginable human and material resources.

“The reality today is that, we are confronted with individuals whose minds have been so twisted and tutored to believe they are doing God a service.”

He reiterated that evil would never prevail over good, adding that “blood is being wasted everyday by those who take advantage of the vulnerability of our people to spread extremist doctrines and recruit them for murderous errands.

“We will never waste any effort in bringing the individuals responsible for crimes against humanity to justice. For those who take pleasure in seeing innocent human beings in pains, you shall have no hiding place. Nigerians will expose you. The people of conscience around the world have rejected you.”

The president observed that the support and cooperation from foreign countries had given Nigeria more fillip, adding that he was confident that the days of Boko Haram are numbered.

“It is now just a matter of time. Our war against terrorism is gathering momentum,” he stressed, while calling on Nigerians to stand together in support of the security agencies against terrorism.

Jonathan remarked that the inauguration was to  kick-start the process of providing succour to Nigerians who had been directly affected one way or the other by acts of terrorism in the country.

He charged the committee to “go out there and knock on the doors of all hearts and institutions in a determined and focused way” in order to raise the required resources “to help rebuild some of our broken existence,” while appealing to well-meaning Nigerians to donate generously to the fund.

Also speaking, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), noted that the nation was faced with hard choices, adding that a decision would soon be made.

“But they are some very hard choices that would have to be made. We have been more concerned about the lives of a few versus the condition of a few million. The decision has to be made soon.

“This is not the first time we have been challenged by very senior Nigerians about the need to end this. We had a situation the other day with former heads of states.They told the president the same thing. We do realise that the time has come to draw a line.

“As we have said, if they are taking the territories, then we have lost the first role as far as I am concerned. At this point, I will like to assure you and all Nigerians we will win the war and God willing, we will do it quickly,” he said