The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, has said that the Federal Government will not in any way
allow the activities of terrorists to paralyse the nation’s economy.
In an interview with Yahoo News,
the minister described the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls by the Boko
Haram insurgents as frustrating, adding that the Federal Government
would do all within its power to rescue the girls.
A copy of the transcribed version of the interview was made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday.
Okonjo-Iweala said, “A friend of mine
tweeted me holding #BringBackOurGirls. We need to move beyond that into
more action; that is what the world is asking for.
“I think we should focus on what
Nigerians are asking for. We are deeply frustrated, all of us are. We
have
to move beyond that to not let the work of the terrorists paralyse us. What I want to say to the world is don’t let the work of the terrorists create division. Criticise, but do not let it create division.
to move beyond that to not let the work of the terrorists paralyse us. What I want to say to the world is don’t let the work of the terrorists create division. Criticise, but do not let it create division.
“This is a time that we need to come
together as a world community to stand with Nigerians and Nigerians to
stand together and not apart in order to fight.”
She added, “This is what the terrorists
want, they want criticism, they want names to be called, they want
frustration, they want people to be divided, and then, they will win.
“If we stand together as a world
community and focus on the girls and bring them back, and we show the
terrorists that terror will not win; then, they will fail.”
The minister said rather than allowing
terrorists to destroy the economy; the Federal Government would attack
the problem through a multi-pronged approach.
She said, “We are going to stop the
extremists with a multi-pronged approach. It is not a simple thing;
there is the military angle, the insurgency angle and the political
angle that has to be pursued; and also, there is the development angle
where we have to give our young people hope and make sure that their
schooling is not interfered with so that they feel more secure.
“All these things have to be done. But
it is not easy fighting these acts of terrorism; if it was easy, you
will not find them cropping up all over the world.”
Copyright PUNCH.