As more reactions trail last week’s bomb attacks allegedly targeted at Mohammadu Buhari, former head of state and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Presidency has cautioned the political class against politicising the issue.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Abuja at the weekend, Rufai Ahmed Alkali, political adviser to the President, stressed that resorting to blame game could be counter-productive to the war against terrorism.
Specifically, he urged those attributing the attack to the Goodluck Jonathan administration directly or indirectly to desist from it.
While sympathising with Buhari over the attack, Alkali stated that it was by providence that his life was spared.
According to Alkali, the present administration is committed to safeguarding lives and property of Nigerians, irrespective of their political affiliation.
To him, “Security matters are not for politicians”.
The President, he noted, is deeply committed to bringing lasting peace and stability to the nation’s political environment.
Also, he harped on the need for Nigerians to work collectively to tackle security challenges in the country, charging them to cooperate with security agencies by providing them with useful information at all times.
“I want to express my sincere concern over what happened to our former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari. You all recall some days ago there was an attempted attack on his life and that of another senior citizen, Sheik Dahiru Bauchi in Kaduna.
“It is by the grace of God that the lives of these two senior citizens were spared. We want to thank God for saving them and for saving this country from the trauma of what could have happened if the people behind it had achieved their objective.
“I want to also state that in a season like this, the usual thing is what has become the popular culture of blame game. I don’t think anybody in this country would be associated with such thing in any way or form.
“We should not over-dramatise these issues. All of us must come together, we have a collective responsibility to protect and defend our country. This is not a time for politicising issues.
“There are people who have been trained and who are responsible for security. We cannot do their job for them; they should be allowed to do their job.
“We should also desist from any attempt that will weaken the institutions of government, especially security agencies who are doing very well in containing the situation”, he said.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE
