The Save Adamawa State Movement has applauded the decision by President Goodluck Jonathan to extend the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

A statement issued by the movement further described the decision as commendable, adding that it shows the determination of the President to finally flush out insurgency once and for all. The group stressed that he extension has shown President Jonathan as a listening leader that always acts on his convictions and in the greatest interest of the country.

The statement signed by the president of the movement, Engr. Stephen Albert, argued that “if President Jonathan had not extended the state of emergency, it would have amounted to a dereliction of duty and would have opened the President to more wicked accusations by the likes of Governor Murtala Nyako of abandoning the north to the insurgents.” The group tasked northern leaders to set aside narrow interests and support the federal government’s efforts to win the war against insurgency, which it says has never been easily won anywhere in the world.

Albert said: “When you scorch a snake, you have given it another opportunity to strike back and with more venom. That is what refusing to extend the state of emergency would have amounted to.

“As stakeholders we can attest to the difference since the government declared the state of emergency and before it sent in the military. We can say it without hesitation that the impunity with which the insurgents hitherto operated has been effectively checked and reduced to the barest minimum.

“Nobody can deny that the North East is the flashpoint of the crisis and that the military needs more time to finish the job. We also know as a fact that insurgency is a difficult war. And there is no quick fix. The Columbia insurgency is a case in point – it has lasted more than 50 years. It is our prayer that before the expiration of the extension that the armed forces would have triumphed over the insurgents.

“We call on the Senate to toe the patriotic position of the House of Representatives in supporting President Jonathan in this war against insurgents by approving the extension of the emergency rule and thereby end the plan of the dreaded terrorists to force its own brand of Islam on the country.

“We must unite against these murderous bands, who with their recent kidnap of innocent school girls have shown a worrying appetite for all manners of criminalities.

“The insurgents must not defeat Nigeria. The government must never lose the initiative. We commend President Jonathan for equipping the military to meet the new challenges. When the airlift helicopters and the other equipment are delivered, the issue of response time to distress calls would be reduced.

“We commend the armed forces of Nigeria for their professionalism. We say fight on. We say victory is certain because it is war against evil forces.

“Finally we will like to draw a parallel with the war against insurgency in Thailand. In Southern Thailand, despite the over 60,000 security forces and billions of dollars the Malay Muslims have continued to wage against insurgency like we have in the North-East. The difference is that in Thailand there is a consensus which is lacking in Nigeria. War against insurgency is a difficult war, a fact that the Adamu Ciromas of this world know considering their background, but for political reasons would never acknowledge. They also know that the insurgents have no code of conduct and that their objective is maximum damage.

“We call on northern leaders to be part of the solution to the resolution of the crisis which in the first place was created by some of them.”

•Photo shows Governor Nyako of Adamawa State.