Nigeria Can’t Survive Another Civil War – Mark

He said, "Those beating the drums of war should realise that
no nation can survive two civil wars in one lifetime.Mark said
this in Abuja while addressing his colleagues during a special
plenary session to mark the end of the Second Legislative
Session of the 7th Senate.
"These trends must stop, and we must all remember that
the nation is greater than the sum total of its parts."
Mark said this just as he lashed out at elected public
officeholders whom he accused of abandoning governance
in pursuit of their personal ambitions ahead of the elections.
According to him, the vaulting personal ambitions among
politicians was over-heating the polity and distracting
officeholders from the onerous task of governance.
Mark said, "Elections are two clear years away, yet the
collision of vaulting personal ambitions is over-heating the
polity and distracting the onerous task of governance.
"Overheating the polity is unnecessary, diversionary,
divisive, destructive, unhelpful and unpatriotic."
The Senate President used the occasion to recall critical
interventions by the Senate in terms of national crisis during
the year under review.
He listed Senate's support for the war against terrorism by
providing the legislative support for the declaration of a state
of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Mark explained that the Nigerian Armed Forces were not at
war with the communities in which the terrorists had
entrenched themselves, nor were they at war with Islam.
The war he said was with Boko Haram and its affiliates,
especially the terrorists' network preaching the ideology that
violence against Nigerians and foreigners was justified.
Mark equally stressed the need for the military to quickly
dispense with the operations of the emergency rule and
defeat the insurgents with minimal damage.
He said, "The military campaign against violent extremism,
both at home and abroad must be quick, surgical and
precise with as little collateral damage as possible. We know
that the foe is faceless, unyielding, unreasonable and more
often than not blinded by zealotry.
"This notwithstanding, we expect our fighting men and
women to respect and abide by the rules of engagement."
He maintained that the nation could not afford to be in a
permanent state of war, adding that Nigerians were eagerly
awaiting a quick, but decisive victory.
Speaking on the executive and legislature's relationship, Mark
said the Senate resisted any attempt to cast the legislature as
a rubber stamp, but recognised the complementary and
collaborative role it plays with the executive branch as long
as it was in the best interest of Nigerians.