Boko Haram: It’s uncharitable for anyone to diminish sacrifices of the military

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress (PYYC) says it is uncharitable for any individual or group to diminish the Nigerian Armed Forces’ leadership as well as the enormous sacrifices of officers and soldiers in the war against terrorism.

According to the south-west socio-political group, the Nigerian military has turned the tide against the Boko Haram/ISWAP since 2016 hence deserve maximum support from Nigerians.

PYYC made this known at a press conference on Monday, accusing the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of heating the polity through unguarded utterances laced with ulterior motives.

In a statement jointly signed by Kola Salawu and Majekodunmi Omolola, president and secretary respectively, PYYC commended President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the necessary succour to the military’s top shots, visible in troops’ morale.

However, the Yoruba youths were critical of some groups, engaged in acts to divide the nation and demoralise the gallant troops.

PYYC accused the Christian umbrella body of partisanship, making unguided claims counter-productive in the fight against terrorism and capable pitching the Christians against the Muslims.

The Yoruba group, therefore, concluded that CAN and its likes who have failed to recognise the remarkable sacrifices of the military’s leadership and troops in the frontline does not have the interest of the country at heart.

Read full statement below:

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress , a socio-cultural organization, consisting of youth from southwest Nigeria, put together this press conference to shed light on some of the challenges facing the country with regards to the fight against terrorism.

We wish to state that the issue of terrorism in Nigeria has taken centre stage since the advent of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. This much is evident in the level of commitment exhibited by the quality of appointments in the critical security sector.

As we are all aware, the Boko Haram/ISWAP agenda is indeed a politically motivated one in the sense that it has been established that there are willing collaborators that have continued to provide them with logistical support to aid their nefarious activities.

There is also another grouping that have elected to serve the interest of Boko Haram/ISWAP through the propagation of propaganda aimed towards giving the Boko Haram/ISWAP group the needed psychological support through their actions manifest in unguarded utterances in the public space.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress wishes to state that despite the level of commitment displayed by the political leadership in Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, the Boko Haram/ISWAP group has continued to be emboldened to confront the Nigerian Military in the theatre of war in North-East Nigeria because of the activities of some groups.

The war against terrorism in Nigeria has received wide commendation from numerous quarters. However, some groups that ideally ought to be engaged in acts that would promote peace have been engaged in acts that divide us rather than unite us.

One of such organization is the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), whose leadership has elected to be on the other side of the divide, in defiance of its mandate of serving as the uniting organization for adherents of the Christian faith in Nigeria.

Their utterances in recent times have been counter-productive in the fight against terrorism, and concerned stakeholders in Nigeria have highlighted this much. Despite overwhelming evidence of political coloration and the involvement of the leadership of CAN in partisan politics, they have carried out with reckless abandon and bringing the Christian faith into disrepute.

The leadership of CAN have continued with their agenda of pitching the Christians against the Muslims by painting the Boko Haram/ISWAP activities as an agenda against the Christian faith in Nigeria.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress is dismayed at such despicable actions despite the unfortunate fact that the leadership of CAN have sold their birthright in exchange for a plate of porridge. This is sad.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has fallen below expectations because it has instead elected to play politics at the detriment of providing sound counsel to the Christian adherents in Nigeria. If this is not the case, then one wonders how and why such an organization would label the threat posed by the Boko Haram/ISWAP group as a religious war.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has continued to disregard the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari led administration in the war against terrorism in Nigeria. They have continued to push the country to the brinks by misleading members of the unsuspecting general public with claims that cannot be substantiated.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress wishes to state that anyone/group that fails to appreciate the efforts of the Muhammadu Buhari led administration in the war against terrorism is playing politics and, as such, should not be taken seriously.

Anyone/group that does not recognize the dexterity of the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces, as well as the enormous sacrifices of officers and soldiers in the war against terrorism, clearly do not have the interest of the country at heart.

This is cognizant of the fact that since 2016, the Nigerian Military had indeed turned the tide against the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist group with a sustained military bombardment that has seen them confined to the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin Region.

The position of the Progressive Yoruba Youth Forum is that terrorism is not a function or an attribute of any religion as no religion preaches killing of fellow humans. This much must be stated in unequivocal terms in a bid to put issues in proper perspective.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress wishes to advise groups and individuals to be guarded by public decorum in their conduct on national issues. The task of defeating terrorism is a collective one, and as such, we must all be guided accordingly.

The sacrifices of our Armed Forces must be commended and appreciated by all in the quest for a secure and united Nigeria.