The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Friday, said although the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), did not visit Kankara, Katsina State where students were abducted, he coordinated rescue efforts from his hometown, Daura.
The minister also gave an indication that the country could have received foreign support in the efforts that led to the release of the students on Friday.
Mohammed spoke at a press conference in Abuja.
When asked why the President failed to visit Kankara despite that he was in the state as of the time of the abduction, the minister said, “Yes, the president did not visit the town but he was busy coordinating the entire operation to ensure the safe return of the students within the fastest time possible.”
Saying children should not have to go to school in trepidation, the minister said the Federal Government was doing everything possible to secure all schools and all Nigerians.
He added, “The release of these schoolboys is a testament to the importance that this administration attaches to the security and safety of all Nigerians.
“There is no government in the world that will not face the challenges of security at one time or another. No government in the world is immune to terrorist attacks.
“What stands any government out is the way and manner it responds to such challenges. For example, school shooting has been a recurring challenge in the United States. Between 2010 and 2020, almost 200 school children were killed and many more injured in various school shooting incidents.
“Needless to say that the world’s most powerful country suffered a tragic terrorist attack in September 2001 that claimed almost 3,000 lives. In France, between 2010 and 2020, 286 people were killed in various terrorist incidents. And in New Zealand, in March 2019, 49 people were
killed in shootings at two mosques in Christ Church, New Zealand.
“I have given these instances to support the fact that no nation, no matter how powerful, is immune to security challenges.”
PUNCH