Nigerian Govt, Private Sector Vote N56bn For Victims of Boko Haram Insurgency

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said that the total funding commitment of the Federal Government and the private sector in support of the rehabilitation victims of insurgency at N56 billion.

Central Bank of Nigeria Orders Banks, Others To Donate to Terror Support Fund

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and discount houses to donate to the Victims Support Fund Committee, set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to raise funds to assist victims of Boko Haram insurgency, which has killed at least 2,053 civilians in the first half of this year in 95 attacks.

The 26-member committee, chaired by former Minister of Defence, Lt.- Gen. T. Y. Danjuma, was inaugurated last week by Jonathan in Abuja.
The directive, which was “more or less like an appeal,” was given in Lagos yesterday by CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, at a breakfast meeting with banks’ managing directors and those of other financial institutions.

New Telegraph had exclusively reported yesterday that the CBN governor summoned the bank chiefs to a meeting without disclosing any agenda.
At the meeting, which held at the CBN new head office complex, Emefiele was said to have told the bank chiefs that President Goodluck Jonathan had appealed to him to seek the support of the financial institutions to contribute to the terror support fund.
One of the participants at the meeting confided in New Telegraph that the bank chiefs told Emefiele that for such funds to be donated, they would have to seek approvals from their respective boards.

The bank chiefs who were said to have been looking forward to the meeting, being Emefiele’s first breakfast forum with them, were said to be disappointed, as they had thought it was issues in the industry that would be discussed. “The meeting was a bloody waste of time.
We thought the meeting was called to discuss the issues and challenges facing the industry but to our surprise, it was basically to discuss Chibok and terrorist issues,” the source said.

Emefiele’s predecessor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had also coaxed banks to donate to the Disaster Relief Fund. Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan had written a letter to the National Assembly seeking the approval to borrow $1 billion to fight Boko Haram, which has killed about 15,000 people in the five years of its campaign of terror.

At the inauguration of the Victims Support Fund Committee, which happened on the day his letter to the National Assembly seeking approval to borrow $1 billion was read to lawmakers, Jonathan had told the members to mobilise collective efforts and resources in support of terror victims.

He urged Nigerians and non-Nigerians, individuals and cooperate bodies, to give generously to the fund.
Besides Danjuma and former Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc. Managing Director, Mr. Fola Adeola, who is the deputy chairman, other members of the committee include Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, Alhaji Abdulsamad I. Rabiu, Alhaji Sani Dauda, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija and Mr. Cosmas Maduka.

Also on the committee are former Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc., Mr. Jim Ovia, Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc., Mr. Wale Tinubu and Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Sani Sidi.

New Telegraph

General Danjuma to President Jonathan: Lead Us as C-in-C to Sambisa Forest

Chairman of the Victims Support Fund Committee, General Theophilus Danjuma has challenged President
Goodluck Jonathan as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces to lead the onslaught to the Sambisa forest where the Boko Haram insurgents are said to be operating from.

Danjuma who spoke on Wednesday during the inauguration of the Committee in Abuja by President
Jonathan said the war against terror was taking too long to win and must be won urgently by the Federal Government.
“One thing we will not do is to go to Sambisa forest.
The commander-in-chief will lead and we will follow the commander-in-chief. But seriously, this war must be brought to an end. We must win this war immediately.

It is taking too long.
“I called it civil war when it began; people say it is insurgency. The insurgents appear to be having an
upper hand at this very moment. They pick and choose where to strike. They are even holding positions and
displacing us. We must win this war Mr. President; we must do so immediately,” Danjuma said.

While inaugurating the Committee, President Jonathan admitted that his administration owes Nigerians victory
over Boko Haram.
Stressing that evil will never prevail over good, Dr. Jonathan said no effort would be spared by his government to bring the individuals responsible for crimes against humanity to justice.
But he called for the support of all Nigerians for the security agencies in the war against terror.
He said: “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.”
“I call on all Nigerians to stand together in support of our security agencies against terrorism. They are working night and day under difficult circumstances. It is unfortunate that when our security personnel prevent
1000 attacks, it is the one attack that succeeds that makes headline news and tends to portray our security agencies as not doing enough. It is part of the realities we have to deal with.”

“The menace of terrorism has 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, in the USA, in China, in Columbia, in Italy, in the United Kingdom, in Kenya, etc. And they will not win in Nigeria. And, with the support of all Nigerians, we would ensure they do not win in Nigeria. Good must prevail over evil.

The President spoke about how it began “on December 25, 2009, when a 23-year-old Nigerian attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, on his way from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, United States”.
“Although his plan failed and the lives of 289 passengers were saved, it was one incident that finally confirmed that a few Nigerians had finally embraced terrorism as a way of life. Now we could no longer deny that terror has arrived our country with its ugly claws
deployed!”

He added: “The year 2009 appears to be a tragic turning point. Boko Haram, an assemblage of heartless individuals, took it upon itself to bring evil upon our country. 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.”
“For those who take pleasure in seeing innocent human beings in pains, to see limbs being shattered and blood flowing in all direction after terror attacks, we say, you shall have no hiding place. Nigerians will expose you.
The people of conscience around the world have rejected you.”
Jonathan praised the countries backing Nigeria to fight the insurgency and this country’s neighbours for their co-operation.

He said: “This has given us more fillip and we are confident that the days of Boko Haram are numbered. It is now just a matter of time. Our war against terrorism is gathering momentum. When you read about bombing
incidents in the mass media, they may come across to those not directly affected as mere statistics. As the old proverb says, when you carry another man’s coffin, it looks like an ordinary log of wood.”
“But to us, fathers and mothers, and the families of the victims, they are not just numbers. They are human beings – sons and daughters, uncles, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters and indeed, fathers and mothers! They are Nigerians!! They are individuals with dreams and aspirations, noble Nigerians who love their country.”

According to him, the Victims Support Fund Committee will help to mobilise collective efforts and resources in support of the victims.
He urged Nigerians and non-Nigerians, individuals and cooperate bodies, to give generously to the Fund.

The committee is to:
•Identify sources and ways of raising sustainable funding to support victims of terror activities;
•Develop appropriate strategies for the fund raising;
•Ascertain the persons, communities, facilities and economic assets affected by terror activities;
•Assess and determine the appropriate support required in each case;
•Manage, disburse and/or administer support to the victims as appropriate;
•Address related challenges as may be appropriate; and
•Advise the Government on other matter(s) necessary or incidental to support victims of terror activities.
Giving the vote of thanks, National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki, assured the committee that
the Federal Government would win the war against terror.

He said: “Sir, you gave me a very difficult task after Gen. Danjuma’s statement. The only thing I will do is
thank them for agreeing to serve and assure them that we will win the war.”
“But there are some very hard choices that would have to be made. We have to been more concern 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.

Courtesy:
The Nation

Boko Haram: FG Floats N30bn 'Victims Support Fund', Inaugurates 'Safe Schools Initiative Committee'

President Goodluck Jonathan announced yesterday that the federal government has concluded plans to float a N30 billion support fund for victims of Boko Haram attacks across the country.
LEADERSHIP gathered that, while the
victims support fund got the endorsement of the Council of State on Tuesday, the federal government would be approaching Gen. Theophilus Danjuma to chair the fund, with Mr. Fola Adeola serving as his deputy.

President Jonathan who confirmed the floating of the fund when he inaugurated the Steering Committee for the Safe Schools Initiative at the presidential villa, Abuja.
He said, “We are also coming up with a package. Because we know that we need to intervene to cushion the effect of Boko Haram. So many people have been killed, we have widows and orphans. Properties have been destroyed, schools burnt.
Government is also coming up with what we call Victims Support Fund.
“We believe that government alone cannot cushion the effect. We want to mobilise resources within and outside Nigeria just like we did during the flood of 2012. We are trying to get somebody that will head that fund. We are looking at the 16th of this month to formally launch the fund.
Government will put something and
individuals will do too”.

The Safe Schools Initiative is being
implemented in collaboration with the
international community led by the
Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, the UN Special Envoy on Education and former British Prime Minister and a true friend of the nation.

Steering Committee for the Safe Schools Initiative inaugurated by the president yesterday is co-chaired by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Gordon Brown. Other members include Governors of Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Aliko Dangote and Nduka Obaigbena, Women affairs, Wike, rep of NSA, DG NEMA, NCWS, civil society.

After inaugurating the committee,
Jonathan said in tackling insurgency,
government was deploying a three-point strategy that focuses on security to enhancement the country’s intelligence and military capability”.
He added that the federal government is also “seeking political solution by working with local governments and communities as well as economic solution through various economic empowerment and job creation programmes all directed at
combating insecurity.
“The safety of our children and the
security of their education must be
paramount to all of us. Tragic
occurrences like the kidnapping of the
Chibok girls must not rise again anywhere in this country”, he noted.
Jonathan continued: “This country is
passing through stress within this period caused by the excesses of the Boko Haram sect and our government has been approaching it from different fronts. We always insist that the defence or security does not end terror but we need to stop collateral damage on innocent people.
“For us to win the war, we need to look at it holistically: economic issues, educational issues, religious issues, socio-cultural issues etc. At the federal level, we have the Presidential Initiative in the North East (PINE). They are looking at the totality of what the Federal Government can do in collaboration with stakeholders.
He said, “Some states are fairly okay with one or two percent. But some states are as high as 70 percent. If the dropout rate of students at the basic level is as high as 70 percent, that means that only 30 percent only goes to school. That is
terrible.

Courtesy:
Leadership Newspaper