All Progressives Congress presidential aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has called for improved efforts to tackle insecurity in the country, saying the nation is bleeding.
He spoke on Tuesday during a visit to Kaduna over the recent train attack in the state.
On March 28, a train that departed Abuja was attacked in the Kateri-Rijana area of Kaduna.
The attack led to the death of eight persons, while several other persons were injured and at least 22 others are stillissing
As a mark of honour to the victims, Tinubu had cancelled a colloquium organised in commemoration of his 70th birthday.
The former Lagos governor, who was received by Governor Nasir el-Rufai, described the incident as a “disaster”.
“We are facing the current challenges seriously and we have to do more. Nigeria bleeds on behalf of everybody. We need to fight terrorism with all our energy and whatever we have.
“It is not shameful for people to be poor, but it is unacceptable to accept poverty as a norm. It is shameful to be callous, wicked and be a bully or terror to instill fear in humanity; it is not acceptable.
“I understand that some people are still missing; innocent people maimed and killed. Families are suddenly thrown into sorrow. It is frustrating, but we must submit to the will of God.
“I am with my entourage to support and pledge. Whatever we need to do, we will make reasonable contribution to the welfare of the victims.
“I urge Nigerians to contribute to the welfare of the victims, either in hospital recovering or in their homes.”
Tinubu also donated N50 million to the Kaduna government for victims of the attack.
On his part, el-Rufai thanked the former Lagos governor for cancelling his colloquium in solidarity with the people of Kaduna.
“This visit preempted my planned visit to asiwaju to thank him for solidarity with the people of Kaduna for cancelling his colloquium the day it was to take place,” the governor said.
“This gesture by asiwaju is a show of powerful leadership, empathy and concern for the lives and property of Nigerians. The government and people of Kaduna state will never forget this gesture.
“We are very grateful to you for service, sacrifice and commitment to the unity and that of our country. We appreciate your call for people to contribute to enable us to rehabilitate the victims of this tragedy,” el-Rufai commended.
Meanwhile, House of Representatives has said some of the issues it discussed during a meeting with service chiefs on Tuesday was an “all-important” issue of moles in the military.
Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking with journalists.
Earlier, the lawmakers had expressed dissatisfaction with the attitude of the service chiefs and some heads of agencies invited over the recent attack on a train in Kaduna.
The House had invited Babagana Monguno, national security adviser (NSA); Bashir Magashi, minister of defence; Isiaka Amao, chief of air staff; Yusuf Bichi, director-general, Department of State Services (DSS); Usman Baba, inspector-general of police (IGP); Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, and Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation.
Also invited were the heads of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
At the meeting held on March 30the public officials were absent and sent in their representatives instead.
The Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, had warned that the legislators should not be taken for granted in the course of executing their constitutional responsibility.
On Tuesday, the service chiefs appeared before the panel consisting of members of the house leadership and security committees.
The meeting held behind closed-doors.
Addressing reporters after the meeting which lasted for four hours, Gbajabiamila said the legislators had “extensive deliberation” with the invited public officials.
“We had an extensive deliberation. The issues we discussed there —unfortunately defence matters are not for public consumption,” he said.
