President Goodluck Jonathan has again called on the Boko Haram insurgents to embrace the option of dialogue by laying down their arms.
Jonathan promised to listen to their grievances.
Addressing the nation on Wednesday on the occasion of Nigeria’s 54th Independence Anniversary, Jonathan also reminded the citizenry that it is the collective responsibility of all to give necessary support to the military as it intensifies effort to defeat the terrorists.
He emphasised that the insurgents do not mean well for the nation, vowing to do all it takes to make all nooks and crannies of the country safe for the people irrespective of religious affiliations.
The President said he would continue to provide resources to ensure that the military succeed in the onerous task of defeating the terrorists, adding: “As Commander-in-Chief, I will continue to do all it takes to enable them to keep on inflicting devastating blows at the heart of terror.”
According to Jonathan: “It is our collective duty as patriots to avail our men and women in uniform of all the support they need to fight and win this war.
“My Administration is committed to making Nigeria safe for all Nigerians, irrespective of our places of birth, how we worship God and our political persuasion.
“To all those waging war against our country, I ask that you lay down your arms and embrace peace.
“To those who have genuine grievances, I affirm that Nigeria will listen to you, if you bring your grievances to the table of dialogue.
“To the good people of Nigeria, let me restate that our task of building a better and greater country must not waver.
“Our overall objective is to do all we possibly can, to sustain in the North-East, the momentum of economic advancement, which is on-going in other parts of the country, despite the machinations of the terrorists and their sponsors.
“It should now be clear to anyone who was ever in doubt that these terrorists do not mean well for anyone, of whatever religion or dispensation. Their persistent choice of the weakest and most vulnerable in society, for gruesome attack, provides an insight into their abnormal mind-set.
“I urge every Nigerian to put aside political, sectional or other parochial considerations, and support whole-heartedly the efforts of the government and the military, in checking this evil.”
The President also expressed satisfaction with the progress the transformation agenda has recorded so far, saying that he would forge ahead until all the critical sectors are transformed.
He, however, noted that full transformation would take time, adding that it cannot be achieved overnight.
Jonathan said: “We have our transformation agenda. It is not something we can do overnight. Even if you have all the money in the world, if you want to build a six-storey building, you must give yourself a period that must be a time for you to complete that project.
“We have drawn our map and we have progressed. I believe we are progressing in the right direction. For you to really build a society, you need to do things that are critical and continue to do them well. And those things will now change the world that we are.
“If we take issues of economy, transport, infrastructure, those things that will improve on the economy. And if the government continues to do those things very well, it would not take a lifetime for this country to change.
“It does not take more than 10 years; most of these countries that changed, they did it within a space of 10 years and we see major changes. We will make sure the younger generation no longer experience what we are going through.”