The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) has slammed President Muhammadu Buhari for hosting All Progressives Congress (APC) party chieftains to a dinner in the state house on the same day terrorists attacked St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, killing over 35 persons.
Newsbreak.ng reported that unknown gunmen on Sunday, June 5 stormed the church premises during service and opened fire on worshippers.
Reacting to the incident, the Pyrates Confraternity, founded by Professor Wole Soyinka and six others, in a statement signed by Abiola Owoaje, NAS Capoon, described Buhari’s action as “Insensitive and reckless abdication of responsibility and the duty of care”.
The statement read in part: “Regrettably, President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership at critical times and his administration’s apathy to all the violence and killing was again highlighted after the tragedy in Owo. A statement released by his media aide, Mr Femi Adesina quoted President Buhari as describing the killings as “heinous”, noting that “only fiends from nether region could have conceived and carried out such a dastardly act”. He added that “eternal sorrow awaits the perpetrators of the bad act both on earth here and ultimately in the hereafter.”
“Nigerians were however taken aback when the President could not match action with the words of the statement he issued to rightly condemn the incident. His directive indicating “immediate mobilisation of all state resources to find and neutralise the criminals”, like many others before now, seems not to be yielding any results that are visible or verifiable.
“Worse still, there is no evidence that the President has given priority to ensuring the implementation of his directives. It does not show care and sensitivity to the pain and suffering of its citizens that the president found it convenient to go ahead with hosting APC party chieftains to a dinner in the state house on the same day.
“Insensitive actions like this keep compelling the painful nationwide opinion of this government’s reckless abdication of responsibility and the duty of care. Prioritising that dinner party adds to the public repudiation of the existence of government-protection of lives and property. The killings and kidnappings have become so rampant that the government appears to be numb to it while the circumference of savagery widens wildly.”
The group also called on President Buhari to seek foreign help in tackling the rising insecurity in the country.
It said, “We restate our earlier recommendation for the government to seek help from friendly foreign countries in the areas of personnel training, intelligence gathering and surveillance technology that will further empower our security agencies to deal effectively with this deadly criminal and terrorist scourge tormenting Nigerians.”
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