Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), has expressed deep pain over the rise in killings of innocent Nigerians across the country by Boko Haram insurgents, bandits, armed robbers, kidnappers and ritualists.
CUPP described the situation as outrageous, barbaric and despicable, insisting that enough is enough. They demanded for a total overhaul of the country’s security apparatus to allow for a change in approach to insecurity in Nigeria.
CUPP in a statement by its Rev. Olusegun Peters, the Chairman, Contact and Mobilization Committee and also a member, Steering Committee of the Coalition, asked the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to inject fresh blood and passion in the war against terrorism and liberate the nation from heartless blood thirsty insurgents, bandits, armed robbers and ritualists.
He reminded the President of his 2015 campaign promises among which was that to win the war against terror was a cardinal objective of the his presidential campaign, but he has since “jettisoned” it due to leadership fatigue and “confusion” in his government.
He said: “President Buhari’s clumsy rebuke of military Service Chiefs in his recent meeting with them, where he said their best was not good enough amounts to an insensitive pat on the wrist and treating the worsening security situation with a kid’s glove.
“It’s unacceptable to Nigerians who daily loose their loved ones in numerous attacks across the country. Nigerian lives matter and must be protected from the hands of marauding terrorists. Government should also intensify efforts to ensure the release of Chibok and Dapchi school girls abducted by Boko Haram. Their continued captivity in the hands of terrorists is a dent and open wounds in the conscience of the nation that abandoned them to their fate.”
Meanwhile, the Coalition has shared the grief of the family of the late Tolulope Arotile, Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot who died recently in an automobile accident.
“We are heartbroken over the sudden demise of this gallant officer who contributed so much in the fight against terrorism and banditry in Nigeria by flying several combat missions. May God console, strengthen and comfort all those affected by her departure. It is indeed a national tragedy. The Nigerian Air Force should immortalize her because she was an embodiment of patriotism,” CUPP said.