Buhari, Sheikh Dahiru’s narrow escape Nigeria saved from calamity – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said Nigeria would have descended into turmoil had bombers succeeded in killing General Muhammadu Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi in last Wednesday’s attacks in Kaduna.Jonathan, who spoke at the State House in Abuja when he received an FCT delegation on Eid el-Fitr visit, said God saved the country from a calamity […]

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said Nigeria would have descended into turmoil had bombers succeeded in killing General Muhammadu Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi in last Wednesday’s attacks in Kaduna.
Jonathan, who spoke at the State House in Abuja when he received an FCT delegation on Eid el-Fitr visit, said God saved the country from a calamity by saving the lives of the former head of state and the Muslim cleric.
“The recent attacks in Kaduna, especially where Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi was a target and General Muhammadu Buhari was also a target, you can imagine if these two people had died in those attacks,” he said.
“Sheikh (Dahiru) Bauchi is one of our top Islamic preachers. He has millions of followers. Buhari, former Head of State, a leading political figure, has massive supporters. On the same day, people wanted to kill them.
“Those who planned the attacks are clearly sons of the devil because if they had killed these two people, we wouldn’t have been here today. This country would have been in turmoil. We couldn’t have gathered here to celebrate. We thank Allah for saving their lives and preventing a major calamity that would have befallen our country.”
Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru were attacked in two separate suicide bomb attacks on Wednesday, in which at least 85 people were reported dead.
The attack on Sheikh Dahiru happened while he was in a long motorcade heading home from the closing session of the Ramadan tafsir, which was attended by thousands of people.
Two hours after, suicide bombers driving a Toyota Sienna targeted Buhari’s car as he was heading out of Kaduna to his hometown Daura.
Jonathan said the two leaders were the targets of the attackers.
He condemned the Kaduna blasts and another one in Kano on Thursday, saying, “We stand to condemn these acts of terror on our people. And we extend our condolence and sympathy to the bereaved and those who might have been injured.”
The president appealed to all the clerics to always preach peace and unity.
“Let me plead with my brothers, especially the clerics that when they are sending their messages out to their followers to preach peace and unity, not the gospel of hate because without peace and unity, we cannot develop this country,” he said.
“In a conflict situation, people move away from such zones and we cannot develop our communities, our local governments, states and our country in a conflict situation.”
Jonathan urged Nigerians to work with his government to bring “to an end the excesses of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups.”
He said his administration was doing everything humanly possible to end terrorism.
The president said a fundraiser would be held on Thursday to assist victims of terror, “so that the widows, orphans, those whose business premises have been vandalised and even our worship places, mosques and churches that have been destroyed, we will rebuild.”
He added that government alone would not able to finance this, hence the fundraiser.
Earlier, Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, who led the delegation, prayed for an end to acts of terrorism in the country.
“We pray for peace and pray that all the evils including Boko Haram, the security challenge and other vices, that Allah will grant us the fortitude to remove these evils in this country and to make Nigerians, all of us, our brother’s keepers and to allow peace, tranquility and progress in Nigeria and for the achievement of our transformation agenda,” he said.
Others on the delegation include Federal Capital Territory Minister Bala Mohammed, former Chief Justice of Nigeria Salihu Modibbo Alfa Begore, former PDP national chairmen Bello Haliru Mohammed and Ahmadu Ali, as well as Senate FCT committee chairman Senator Smart Adeyemi.