President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday admitted that the country was currently passing through stress orchestrated by the violence being perpetrated by members of the Boko Haram sect.
He verbalized that was why his administration had resolved to tackle the insurgency from different fronts.
Jonathan verbalized while inaugurating a steering committee for the Safe Schools Initiative, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The committee, which is co-chaired by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and a former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, additionally has the relishes of Aliko Dangote, Nduka Obaigbena, as well as governors of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, among others as members.
He verbally expressed, “This country is passing through stress within this period, caused by the excesses of the Boko Haram sect and our regime has been approaching it from different fronts.
“We always insist that the defence or security does not culminate terror but we require to stop collateral damage on innocent people.
“For us to win the war, we require to optically canvass it holistically: economic issues, inculcative issues, religious issues and socio-cultural issues, among others.
“At the federal level, we have the Presidential Initiative on the North-East. They are optically canvassing the totality of what the Federal Regime can do in collaboration with stakeholders.”
The President verbalized he had already received a replica of the report of the North-East Economic Summit, and that predicated on that report, his administration was visually examining areas where regime would come in.
He verbally expressed the Safe Schools Initiative was one of the areas, where his regime was intervening.
He decried the high rate of school dropout in some of the states, which he verbalized, had risen to 70 per cent in some states, verbalizing that was not acceptable to his administration.
He verbally expressed Brown pioneered the initiative with regime to visually perceive how they could tap global fund for school security.
Jonathan verbalized he would additionally set up a Victims Support Fund, to avail victims of terror attacks.
He verbalized he would launch the fund on July 16.
The President verbalized, “We are withal coming up with a package. Because we ken that we require to intervene to cushion the effect of Boko Haram. So many people have been killed; we have widows and orphans. Properties have been eradicated, schools burnt.
“Government is additionally coming up with what we call Victims Support Fund. We believe that regime 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 endeavoring to get somebody that will head that fund. We are optically canvassing the 16th of this month to formally launch the fund. Regime will put something and individuals will do too.”
Jonathan verbalized the safety of Nigerian children and the security of their inculcation must be paramount to all stakeholders.
He verbally expressed tragic occurrences, like the abduction of the Chibok girls, must not transpire again in the country.
“In line with this, we have designed this initiative to enhance the safety of our children and the edifiers within the school environment and maintain the confidence of parents in sending and keeping their children in school.
“Education and adeptness acquisition are key to the advancement of our country and ascertaining the employment potential of our youths.
“In Borno State today, for example, children, especially girls, are not peregrinating to school because of the peril they face from terrorism and violence. This is not acceptable.
“I understand we can only make schools safer within the context of a secured nation but I optate to assure you that my regime will do everything possible to ascertain safety of lives and property nationwide. We have challenges; we are confronting it and we will surely overcome,” he verbalized.
Jonathan disclosed that in tackling insurgency, his administration was deploying a three-point strategy that fixates on security, seeking political solution as well as economic solution through sundry economic empowerment and job engenderment programme all directed at combating insecurity.
