The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) today came under fire from the Presidency for allegedly politicising the death of a police chief who was shot dead by suspected assassins last Saturday. It also berated the emergent opposition mega party for its governors’ last week visit to Borno, the hotbed of the Boko Haram insurgency. Dr. Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, who addressed a press conference in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, dismissed the visit as “an act of crass opportunism and political desperation” hurriedly undertaken to take the shine off a planned visit by President Goodluck Jonahan.

Okupe’s words:

“We are constrained once again to reluctantly respond to the pettiness and unpatriotic political filibuster which has been the hallmark of the publicity style of the Action Congress of Nigeria.

“How else can one explain the over politicization of virtually every crime and tragedy that happens in the country by Alhaji Lai Muhammed and his companions in the opposition political propaganda machinery.

“While the gruesome killing of a distinguished police officer in the person of the late Kwara State Police Commissioner Mr. Chinwike Asadu is sad and regrettable, it is unthinkable that any rational citizen or serious political party will seize the opportunity to acquire any political mileage without considering the interest of the deceased grieving family. Only the likes of Alhaji Lai Muhammed and his party can explain this mind set of never allowing reason and patriotism to prevail over partisanship.

“Alhaji Lai Muhammed continues to present himself and his party, the ACN as conscienceless and desperate politicians without depth or substance; certainly lacking in cerebral contributions to the progress of this Nation.

“Everywhere in the world, it is a known fact that criminality exists but the overriding duty of government is to ensure safety of lives and property and ensure that perpetrators of crime are made to face the full weight of the law. There is abundant evidence that the police and other security agencies are working in line with this goal. For example, those who carried out the recent attack on His Royal Highness, the Emir of Kano Alh Ado Bayero have been apprehended and going through the process of the law.

“Certainly, isolated tragedies such as the killing of Mr. Asadu cannot be taken as an index of a failed state because if that was to be so, many Nations of the world including some of the advanced countries would be termed failed states. All over Europe and America, criminals engage in killings and mass murder, even of school children and nobody in those countries laid the blame on the president or head of government talk less of using it to denigrate their countries as failed or failing state.

“A few days ago, a retired police chief, Bill Dowling aged 59, who was a former station commander at Marlborough Police Station for over 5 years, was killed with his girlfriend in his home town in the United Kingdom. Till date, no opposition politician or the Media in the UK has insinuated that this was an evidence of a failed state or ineffective government in the area of security or law enforcement.

“On the part of government, we wish to restate that this administration will not shirk its responsibilities to ensure that Nigerians everywhere are safe and free to conduct their lawful business. The perpetrators of this ignoble act will surely be apprehended and brought to justice.

“I will not end this address without making a few comments about the so called “show of bravado” by some governors under the aegis of the APC who recently visited Borno State.

The APC Governors’ visit was hurriedly packaged to pre-empt the visit of Mr. President which had been planned and scheduled several weeks ago. This is surely an act of crass opportunism and political desperation on the part of these Governors and the party they represent.

“We regard that visit as a media circus, stunt and photo-ops by these governors who were apparently in Maiduguri to feather their political nests. If one may ask, where were these governors in the last eighteen months that they had been in office? It is obvious that it is part of their mobilization drive that took them to Borno State rather than any patriotic call to duty. These are desperate power mongers who flock together in spite of their obvious conflicting political philosophies and inordinate ambitions.

“Lastly, we will like the ACN to explain to Nigerians the benefits that the celebrated visit has brought to the citizens of Borno State and what effect it had on the activities of the Boko Haram sect which even carried out bomb attacks while the APC meeting was in progress.

“That visit which was borne out of sheer political recklessness could have caused Nigeria major security embarrassment but for the fact that the Federal Government and its security apparatus took extra efforts to ensure that the visiting Governors were safe. Being elected officials, the onus was on the Federal Government to ensure that they were safe in spite of their being oblivious of the peculiar security implications and real potential dangers inherent in their hurriedly packaged visit.”

•Photo: Presidential spokesman Dr. Doyin Okupe