Borno Governor Babagana Zulum has asked the Federal Government to seek support of the military in neighbouring Chadian Republic in its bid to end the insecurity challenge.
Zulum, who spoke about the sorry state of affairs in his state, argued with the way things are, the Nigerian military requires the assistance of others to be able to reverse the current state of insecurity.
He spoke in Maiduguri, the state capital, on Wednesday while receiving a delegation of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), who visited in relation to the latest attack on the governor’s convoy, during which many died.
In a statement, the spokesman of the NGF, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo quoted the Borno Governor as promising not to give up but would be more careful in his efforts to ensure things return to normal in the state.
Zulum was said to have pleaded with the Federal Government “to ensure that Chadian soldiers are invited to join the Nigeria Army in the fight against insurgency if any meaningful success is to be recorded on the battle ground.”
According to the NGF’s spokesman: “Zulum rationalised that no single army anywhere in the world has ever succeeded in quelling insurgency and requested that the government looked into ways of complementing the efforts of the Nigeria Army with the Chadian soldiers, emphasising it is not to undermine the Nigerian soldiers, but to help them in finishing the job within a realistic deadline.”
Zulum was said to have told his visitors things have really gone bad to the extent that majority of the population are now idle, having been displaced by insurgents and other criminals and left to depend on aid for survival.
The Governor noted that before now, the Chad Basin used to employ about 10 million residents while the Sambisa Grazing Reserve and the Mandara Mountains used to employ about 3 million people but the insurgents have made the places inaccessible to the people.
Zulum noted over 800,000 currently resident in Monguno, are under the age of 20 and idle, thereby making them susceptible to being led astray if nothing is done to engage them positively.
The Governor added Gajiram Local Government has over 300000 internally displaced persons, all of whom currently lack access to education and employment.
Chairman of the NGF, Governor Kayode Fayemi, who led the delegation, expressed support for Zulum and commiserated with him over the deaths recorded in the attack.
Fayemi, who announced a donation of N100million to the Borno State Government, called on all to lend a hand to ending insecurity in the land.
Part of the statement reads: “Governor Fayemi was accompanied on the trip by the Governor of Sokoto State and Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Rt Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and the Governor of Plateau State and Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Rt Hon Simon Bako Lalong.
“Addressing the embattled Governor, Dr Fayemi admonished Prof Zulum to exercise caution in his activities in the state, even though he narrated how the Borno Governor always responded by saying that his life was in the hands of Allah and that death will only comes when Allah wills.
“Dr Fayemi emphasised that Nigeria owes the Borno people a duty to end this insurgency.
“The Ekiti State Governor described how Gov Zulum attempted to dissuade them from visiting his state but the Chairman of the NGF insisted that it is not just a duty but the most realistic thing to do because “an attack against one is an attack against all.”
“The NGF Chairman announced a donation of one hundred million Naira to the Government and people of Borno State from the NGF before handing the cheque over to the Borno governor.”
The Nation
