PRESIDENCY TO ATIKU.... YOU CONTIBUTED TO BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY........ says he contributed to escalation of insurgent activities in the North, by making utterances like, "those who make peaceful change inevitable will make violent change inevitable"

The Presidency Tuesday reacted to statements credited to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on the security situation in the country, saying some of his past utterances contributed to the escalation of insurgent activities in the North.
But in a quick response, some supporters of Mr. Abubakar, under the aegis of Turaki Vanguard, condemned the Presidency for disparaging the former vice president.
Mr. Abubakar, had spoken at a press conference on Monday in Abuja during which he lamented the security situation in the north eastern part of Nigeria.

He said the Federal Government had not done enough to tackle the insecurity in the northern part of the country and called for the support of the international community to bring an end to the situation.
He said President Goodluck Jonathan could not possibly want to go down in history as the only Nigerian Commander-in-Chief to have ever lost territory to terrorists and that the president still had a chance to redeem his legacy.

But the Presidency, through the Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, recounted that in the build up to the 2011 general elections, Mr. Abubakar had quoted the famous statement by late US President John Kennedy that "those who make peaceful change inevitable will make violent change inevitable".
He said that remark contributed to the escalation of insurgency in the country.
The presidential aide spoke in Abuja at the Public Affairs Forum, a programme organised by his office for ministers to give account of their stewardship to members of Civil Society Organisations, Professional groups and artisans.
While lamenting the former vice president's remarks at the Northern Stakeholders Forum in 2010, Mr. Okupe said it was unfortunate that those who desperately stoked the fire of insurgency now laying the blame on the shoulders of a government already working hard to put out the fire.

He said it was lack of patriotism that made Mr. Abubakar to talk down on the nation's military which he hopes to lead, if elected President of the Federal Republic.
Mr. Okupe said the former vice president, who is from Adamawa State, one of the states ravaged by insurgent activities, was not known to have taken any hard position on terrorists and terrorism in the past and shouldn't expect to gain any political mileage from the unfortunate killings and kidnappings in some parts of the North by presenting himself as being on the side of the victims of insurgency.

He advised the presidential aspirant to learn from political leaders in other climes who drop the toga of partisanship in moments of national crisis by supporting their governments to raise the hope of citizens and defeat enemies of civilisation.
The presidential aide said President Goodluck Jonathan would not be distracted by negative comments from Mr. Abubakar and a few others whose only concern is politics rather than nation building.
He said the president would continue to work assiduously with security chiefs and community stakeholders to restore peace to the northern part of the country in the shortest possible time.