The Borno Governor, Babagana Zulum, has urged President
Muhammadu Buhari to explore other options rather than the use of
force against Boko Haram insurgents.
Zulum was reacting to Boko Haram fighters backed by the Islamic
State West African Province earlier attack on least four Nigerian
Army bases, raising concerns among the troops of the Operation
Lafiya Dole in the North-East.
The army had lost a yet-to-be-ascertained number of soldiers
when Boko Haram fighters attacked its bases in the Mobbar, Damasak,
Monguno and Gajiram areas of Borno State.
Zulum, who met President Buhari on Wednesday, when asked if he
was concerned that Boko Haram was no longer dealing with soft
targets but attacking military bases, said: “You are aware that
some incidents occurred two, three days ago where about 40 people
were killed in Konduga. By and large, we are aware of steps the
president is willing to take that will virtually bring that issue
to a standstill.
“But most importantly, there is need for the Federal government
to also open other opportunities of bringing down the crisis rather
than the kinetic force. It is also important for those people who
have been forced to join the insurgency; if they are integrated
into the society, I think this will be good.
“There is an existing policy within the military called
Operation Safe Corridor just to strengthen the system. By and
large, we are optimistic that Borno State will bounce back
again.”
Speaking on the purpose of the visit, the Borno Governor said:
“I’m basically here to discuss with Mr. President on how possible
the Federal government can strengthen the current security
situation on ground as well as strengthen the means of livelihood
of the entire people of Borno State.
“Basically, we want to address the root causes of the
insurgency, especially the issue of access roads, access to farm
lands and the issue of strengthening the Civilian JTF and the
military to do their jobs better than before.
On the recent attacks in the state and what the government is
doing to fight insecurity the governor said: “The issue of security
is not one you discuss anyhow. But the government of the state is
collaborating with the military and other security agencies to
ensure that the citizens are well protected.
“On my part, I am also trying to strengthen the locals to be
resilient enough especially by providing them with logistics like
vehicles and others so that they can undertake some surveillance to
support the military.
“By and large, our discussions with the military have gone well
and we are doing everything possible to ensure that stability
returns to Borno State.”
Culled from Sun
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