CRC Shehu Sanni carpets Mark over comment on Boko Haram

CRC carpets Mark over comment on Boko Haram

Shehu Sanni

The Civil Right Congress (CRC) have berated Nigerian Senate President, Sen. David Mark over comments credited to him, blaming northern leaders for the security ravaging the region. He also urged Mark to refrain from shying away from the main

issues, but "tell President Goodluck Jonathan the absolute truth".  

The Congress Chairman, Mr. Shehu Sani who spoke on behalf of the group yesterday in Abuja noted that Security is the duty of the government in which David Mark is a top player, adding that the government is to be blamed for its inability to arrest the rising wave of terrorism in the Country.  

“David Mark’s warning of a possible break up of Nigeria as a result of bombings and his shifting of blame or responsibility to northern leaders is most unfortunate. David Mark is simply exonerating himself and shying away from calling a spade a spade in terms of the failure of government to protect its citizens and the failure of the generation of leaders of which he is a leading figure.

“How can a man who is occupying the position of Senate President by virtue of the region he comes from, now blame the so-called northern leaders.

David Mark is Senate President today because his party zoned the office to the North Central region, which automatically makes him a component of the northern leadership", he said.  

Continuing, "If northern leaders have failed the nation, David Mark stands as the emblem of that failure, Sani said.

Mr David Mark should use a platform like the Senators’ retreat and the esteemed presence of the president to tell the truth and not stoop to escapism. David Mark should earn his respect by not been a lickspittle, but by acting like a man of courage, who can tell the president the truth and give hope to the citizenry,” the Activist concluded.

On another note:

President of Kaduna-based Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, CRCN, Mr. Shehu Sani, also lamented over the incident, which he described as the use of modern technology in aiding religious violence in Northern Nigeria, saying “the gory and horrific photographs of victims of suicide bombings and reprisal attacks shared throughBlackberry in Kaduna aided in fueling tension, and also encouraged violence.”

The state government added that the background and accent of speakers in the films were imported to re-kindle hatred as well as ethnic and religious crises.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant (Media) to Governor Patrick Yakowa, Mr. Reuben Buhari, entitled Malicious video in circulation, yesterday, said: “The video, which showed grim pictures of dead bodies was aimed at portraying the state in bad light in a bid to truncate the peace-building efforts of the government.

“The attention of the Kaduna State Government has been drawn to a one-minute video clandestinely being circulated within Kaduna State by some faceless people.

“The content of the video, which shows grim images of a heap of dead bodies being handled by security forces, is basically meant to deliberately tarnish the image of the state, truncate the peace-building process in place and pitch adherents of our two major religions against each other.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is pertinent to mention that the scene in the video was not shot in Kaduna State as can be seen from the abundance of neem trees in the background and the accent of some of the people in the video, which is completely alien to the people of Kaduna.

“The police van in the background also shows that it is not from Kaduna State.

“If anyone comes in contact with the video he/she should ignore it as it is a deliberate effort by certain individuals to rekindle and fan the embers of religious and ethnic differences amongst inhabitants of our state.

“The good citizens of Kaduna State are enjoined not to play into the hands of these people who are bent on further creating enmity and division among us for their own devilish goals.”

CRCN President, Mr. Sani, said: ‘’Information and CommunicationTechnology, ICT, is aiding and abetting religious violence and insurgency in Northern parts of Nigeria.

“These are the facts: Text messages have become easy avenues for incitement, warmongering and spread of rumour that seriously inflame religious violence.

“Muslims and Christians, northerners and southerners have turned social networking sites like
Facebook and Twitter into provocative platforms and theater of abuse and insults against each other.”

‘’Many postings among Yahoo groups members promotes hate, intolerance and reprisals. Grotesque pictures snapped using handsets and video clips recorded using iPads and sent to the Internet create impressions and helped in stoking the embers of discord between Muslims and Christians.”