Why Jonathan should dialogue with Boko Haram – Reps

Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to consider dialogue with the dreaded Islamist sect- Boko Haram and other outlawed groups causing violence in the country as the best option.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion titled “Urgent need for the Federal Government to open avenues for dialogue as a means of addressing security challenges in the country,” which was moved by Muhammed Bashir Galadanchi

Galadanchi, while moving the motion, expressed concern that the present approach of the government of “military action, random arrests and imprisonments obviously had limited effectiveness and escalated trends of insecurity, indicating that they are only short-term solutions”

He added that, “if this approach is not reversed and more long-term solutions deployed, these incessant incidents will pose serious threats to our security, democracy, rights and freedom of our innocent citizens and ultimately destabilise the nation’s fragile stability and unity”.

He therefore called on Jonathan to “embrace dialogue to resolve the present insecurity bedevilling the nation”, while “initiating programmes that will promote rule of law, strengthen civil institutions and address the underlying factors of fuel insecurity and violent extremism”.

The reps also commiserated with the Emir of Kano and the families of those who died during the recent violent attack on the state.