…Says government must deliver on its primary duty
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has joined in condemning the threats from the American President, Donald Trump, on the security situation in Nigeria.
According to the party, the threats of the American President and the execution of the threats would amount to a violation of the United Nations charter on the sovereignty of a country.
New Telegraph had earlier reported that the American Government had designated Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ on the allegation of Christian genocide in the country.
SDP, however, said that the Presidency should stop explaining insecurity away but deal with it decisively.
They argued that the insecurity in the country is an all-inclusive one, just as they quipped that the government had abandoned it for the 2027 re-election campaign.
In the statement from the National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Aiyenigba, the party said, “The Social Democratic Party (SDP), as a national political party that promotes the true interest of Nigeria, is greatly worried by the prevailing disconcerting development and discourses that concern seeming threats to the sovereignty of the country.
“The Party notes with deep worry that the undeniable underwhelming performance of the nation’s security architecture, particularly with regard to our inability to contain or eliminate the atrocious activities of insurgents and bandits from our territory, which have plagued our land for close to two decades, has become a major subject of international concern.
“First and foremost, every government owes a duty to protect the lives and property under the preamble, Chapter II and Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Successive governments have been in breach of this fundamental obligation for decades.
“To the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the life of every Nigerian, which is being daily lost to unabating banditry, is more important than the unimportant narrative of their religious persuasion, which appears to be the case.
“The Party, therefore, calls on the federal government to focus more on securing the lives of all Nigerians, whether Christians, Muslims, or traditional worshippers, rather than explaining away the creeds of the massive victims of insecurity across the nation.
“However, under the United Nations Charter, the internal affairs of every country are outside the purview of the intervention of another. The SDP is therefore not in support of those fellows who appear to be promoting the violation of our sovereignty through some forms of external aggression on account of Nigeria being listed as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the Trump administration in the United States of America.
“The Party strongly stands in defence of the domestic, external, Westphalian, and legal (de jure) sovereignty of the Nigerian state and will continue to work to preserve our national autonomy.
“Diplomacy should be adopted by the use of exchange of ideas rather than an exchange of words. If the United States is that concerned about the insecurity and killings in Nigeria, it should offer concrete military support and intelligence collaboration to Nigeria like it is doing to its other allies, including Israel, Egypt, Pakistan and others.
“President Trump or any other foreign power can not love Nigeria more than Nigerians love themselves. The government and the citizens of Nigeria must rally around to solve the insecurity problems.
“Importantly, President Trump must not invade or incur into the territory of Nigeria under any guise as the history of the United States invasions has never been without unintended consequences in sorrow, tears and blood for the citizens of those countries: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria etc, often without solving the advertised intended purposes.
“Mindful that the primary purpose and duty of government is the security and welfare of the people, which means that the lives, liberty, and property of citizens are the reason of having a government in whose hands lie the destiny of the nation, the SDP calls on President Tinubu to scale up efforts at delivering in more practical terms, on his responsibility as the Commander-in-Chief.
“The task of securing the lives of Nigerians irrespective of their religions and tribes is more important than considerations for the 2027 general election. He therefore needs to prioritise national security and the betterment of the lives of Nigerians in the remainder of his mandate.
‘The Social Democratic Party (SDP) will continue to promote the truth of Nigeria; work towards making life truly meaningful for the people, and remain the credible alternative political party for national redemption.
“Intertwined issues of bidding farewell to poverty must not continue to be neglected in our quest to get rid of insecurity, as there is no way to defeat insecurity while exacerbating poverty by the promotion of anti-people policies of the Tinubu administration that are making daily survival an excruciating ordeal for the ordinary Nigerians.”
