TheCable

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) has accused the federal government of plotting to create a fake Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, and present before Nigerians in order to claim glory of winning the war on terrorism.

“Beyond this, credible sources have alerted the APC that the fake Shekau might become a tool to blackmail members of the opposition by coaching the phantom terror chief to say he was working for the opposition party candidate, Muhammadu Buhari in order to link its presidential candidate to terrorism as it had attempted but failed in the past,” Garba Shehu, director of media and publicity of APCPCO, said in a statement on Monday.

Shehu wondered where the “new Shekau” would come from since the government, at several times in the past, announced that it had killed the insurgents’ leader.

“The charge to the military, that they should catch Shekau alive by the president in the last 24 hours lends credence to the report that indeed a fake Shekau is about being created,” he alleged.

He went on to assert that the profile of the leader of Boko Haram as a dedicated ideologue presupposed that he would likely not to allow himself to be caught alive.

“It is both contradictory to the ideology he preaches and the psychological profile that the world has of him that Shekau would allow himself to be caught alive,” Shehu argued.

The APCPCO spokesman recalled that “the attack back in Kaduna on the party’s presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari was seen and believed by most Nigerians that it was perpetrated by Boko Haram”.

“The police that is constitutionally empowered to investigate and report on such incidents has not contradicted the widespread belief that this was a Boko Haram attack,” he said.

“The view of the APC is that it does not make sense for Muhammadu Buhari to be in league with or be associated in any way with people who have set out to kill him.”

In view of this, Shehu stated that the government needed to listen to the counsel of international bodies and religious leaders that campaign must be about issues and not maligning people.

“Unfounded allegations linking the opposition to insurgency amounts to leaving the issues to pursue personal attacks as warned against, barely 24 hours ago by leaders of the Catholic community in the country, through John Onaiyekan, Arch Bishop,” he said.

He expressed shock by the president’s admission in a weekend newspaper interview that he had under-estimated the Boko Haram challenge, arguing that any leader in that circumstance should not consider himself fit to seek re-election.

He added that the admission was evidence that the president had nothing to offer, and “must bow to the wind of change”.

According to him, President Jonathan is out of touch with the realities of the lethal challenges posed by global terrorism, including Boko Haram.

Shehu explained that for any president to under-estimate terrorism, it means that he does not take any national challenges seriously, including health, poverty, unemployment, power, education, infrastructure and other issues.

He also said that by his admission, Jonathan had passed a vote of no confidence on himself and his government.

“With a president admitting his incompetence of a mortal challenge to the security of Nigerians, he has no business seeking re-election or looking for excuses to delay the polls,” Shehu said.