The Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, says the continued menace of Boko Haram has made it imperative for Nigeria to revisit its foreign policy with francophone nations.

Also, a security analyst, Mr. Jackson Ojo, has warned President Goodluck Jonathan against trusting Nigeria’s neighbours in his efforts to win the battle against terrorists.

In an interview with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Sunday, Suleiman said that Boko Haram insurgency had political dimensions.

He said, “When you look at Nigeria’s history, we have been consistent in the kind of animosity we share with the Francophone West African countries.

“Nigeria should revisit, for instance, our francophone policy. We should look at the French policy to Nigeria. We should look at the position of France to Nigeria’s security. We should look at what it has been over the years; the strategy in the area of politics; what has been the France-Nigeria relations; what has been the attitude, orientation, conduct and posture to Nigeria.

“Again, we still need to go back to what has been the attitude of France and French government to Boko Haram issue in our ability to fight terrorism.”

The minister said the continued menace of insurgency had not been because government was not working but that Nigeria was not getting enough support from the sub-region.

He urged Nigerians to stop criticising or blaming President Goodluck Jonathan for the insurgency in the country.

He said, “People should be mindful of one thing when they try to criticise President Jonathan on issue of terrorism. We should know that when it comes to fighting terrorism, counter terrorism and warfare, presidents do not go to war. It’s the primary responsibility of the military.

“Nigerian Armed Forces today are being dominated by northerners and the Boko Haram spate is in the north. If there is a problem there, we should look at our tactics, military operations and suspect some subversive tendencies in the armed forces.

“The Inspector-General of Police is from the North; the National Security Adviser is from the North, the Chief of Defence Staff is from the North. So, why must anyone blame the President?”

Ojo, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Saturday, alleged that the constant attacks on the citizens and Nigerian communities had the support of some of the aggrieved persons in some of the neighbouring countries.

The security expert, who condemned the deadly attack on Kano mosque on Friday, also said that Nigeria should not seek help from the United States. He explained that the US had predicted the disintegration of Nigeria by 2015, saying they would not offer any help but would rather aggravate the problem.

Ojo said, “President Jonathan must do everything to put a stop to the activities of the Boko Haram sect. But he should no longer trust our neighbouring countries. Nationals of these countries, such as the Chaldeans, people from Niger Republic, those from Central African Republic and even Benin Republic enter into Nigeria anyhow and this must stop.

“There are some aggrieved persons in these countries who would want to bring Nigeria down. Some of them are not happy about Nigeria’s stance against (the late Libyan leader, Muamar) Gaddafi and the way our troops went to Mali.

“Majority of the members of this Boko Haram sect are aliens. Nigerians love life and would not want to be suicide bombers but aliens whose culture allow suicide bombing would go to any lengthy to destroy our nation.

“We should not look in the direction of the United States of America for solution to this terrorism problem. The same US had long predicted the collapse of Nigeria and going to them would not solve our problem.”