Boko Haram: Abdulsalami sues for peace, Soyinka lambasts Jonathan

 Former military head of State, General Abdulsalami  Abuba­kar (Retd) has urged Nigerians to join hands to ensure peace in the country.

Abubakar made the ap­peal  yesterday in Port Har­court, Rivers State,  dur­ing  the opening ceremony of Port Harcourt World Book Capital  2014, held at the Ho­tel Presidential, Port Harcourt.

The former Nigerian lead­er spoke  against  the back­drop  of  the  tension in the country, caused by the inglori­ous  activities of members of the Boko Haram.

He reasoned  that without peace in the country, people would not have the oppor­tunity to gather together for events,  such as the Port Har­court World Book Capital.

Abubakar, who was the keynote speaker at the event,  commended Gover­nor  Chibuike  Rotimi Amae­chi  for what he called  his revolutionary approach to education in the state, espe­cially the building and equip­ping of model secondary and primary  schools.

Speaking on the occa­sion,  the Nobel Laureate, Pro­fessor Wole Soyinka, tasked President Goodluck Jonathan to prioritise tackling  the Boko Haram menace, above his re-election campaign.

He said what the leader­ship of the country ought to have done to tackle the se­curity challenges confronting the nation, especially in the Northern axis, was to convene an emergency security meet­ing to look for a way out.

The Nobel Laureate pointed out that the Nyanya  massacre in Abuja and the subsequent abduction of over 200 female students, called for urgent at­tention by a responsive nation­al leadership.

Meanwhile,  Governor Amaechi  has  said that the state government would be ready to  offer  scholarship  to any of the rescued girls, ab­ducted by members of the Boko Haram, provided such girls are willing to study in the state’s model secondary school.

Amaechi, who alleged  that there  was underground plans to frustrate the opening cer­emony of the Port Harcourt World Book Capital, said some of the ways  of finding solution  to the Boko Haram insurgency were  through education and agriculture.

According  to Amaechi, if the youths involved  in Boko Haram were in school or engaged in farming, they wouldn’t have found time for the criminal act.