Jonathan’s govt not prepared for insurgency, says Okupe

The government of President Goodluck Jonathan came on board totally
unprepared for the insurgency ravaging some states in the North, the
Presidency has said.
Speaking at the public forum on the impact of the Jonathan
administration on Tuesday in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to
the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said those that were
bent on rating the present government, based on the worsening state of
insurgency in Nigeria, were wrong.
He said, "Somebody wants us to believe that the only testimony of
performance of this administration is insecurity. (But) that's not
true. This government was totally unprepared for the insurgency.
Nobody planned for insurgency. And yet insurgency is a serious problem
on its own to contain. America, with all its power and resources, was
in Iraq for up to about five or six years with over 400,000 soldiers
put on ground and yet see Iraq the way it is today."
He noted that it was a national misfortune that the Chibok girls were
still held captive by the terrorists, stressing that the ceasefire
agreement between the Federal Government and Boko Haram was at the
instance of the sect.
He said, "Yes, a ceasefire was announced and it was at the instance of
the insurgents. What the President has demonstrated today is that he
said that all options are on the table. So, when the insurgents call
for talk, how can anybody blame the government for that? If it doesn't
work out, that is not the fault of the government. That is actually
the nature of the insurgents. Because they are factionalised, their
line of command is not clearly defined.
"So, this government's capability and performance cannot solely be
represented on the outcome of the insurgency in Nigeria. There is
agriculture, education, infrastructure, health, social development and
many other component parts."
Okupe further argued that Nigeria had three tiers of government and
Nigerians should start demanding the dividends of democracy from their
respective state and local governments.
He said, "There are three tiers of government: federal, state and
local. The Federal Government only takes 48.5 per cent of the total
revenue for the country. The other 51.5 per cent is taken by the
states and all the local governments put together.
"But everybody focuses only on the Federal Government and that is
wrong. It is right to put their focus on the Federal Government but it
is wrong to put their focus only on the Federal Government, because
the share of the money for development and administration is equal.
And out of the Federal Government's share, about 15 per cent goes to
foreign affairs and military, which the states do not bear at all."