Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara has blamed the lingering insecurity and insurgency in the northern part of the country on the complacent attitude of elders from the region.

Speaking at Thursday’s presidential campaign rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Lafia Central Square in Nasarawa State, Dogara accused northern leaders of being docile and playing politics with issues of peace and security.

He said: “On the issue of insecurity, all of us know what is happening in Borno, Abuja, Kaduna, Zamfara and Katisna, even Sokoto now. And even Nasarawa State, Benue and Plateau states.

“I cannot even mention all. It is a general problem in the country. But I only mentioned the states where the situation is so endemic. The issue is this, when these things were prevalent in 2015, we had Borno Elders, where are Borno Elders now?

“Where are the leaders of Northern Nigeria where this problem has become endemic? What are they saying? The truth is that if we don’t rise to the challenge sooner than later, if things continue this way, we are not going to have a country.

“Now, the sad commentary about the elites in Nigeria is that we have all by our silence become enablers to those who have been unable to tackle this insecurity. And you know what enablers do?

“Enablers do not build a country, they only instigate or worship an individual to a position where they will compare such a person with God and none of us was built to receive worship.

“Any human being who accepts worship will meet destruction. That is why we are witnessing destruction in Nigeria, because we have elevated some human beings to the status of God.

“And we need to rise up as a people to rescue the country from the clutches of insecurity.”

While warning that the nation’s democracy was being threatened by the unabated insecurity in the land, the Speaker added: “ It is our responsibility to rescue Nigeria from the clutches of insecurity because without security, we cannot even understand the meaning of democracy.”

Dogara further stressed that the 2019 general elections were not about President Muhammadu Buhari nor Atiku Abubakar but a referendum about insecurity and hunger in Nigeria.