Member Presidential Committee on the North-east Initiative (PCNI), Dr. Sidi Ali Mohammed, has said the insurgents were paid $3,000 daily for fighting the nation’s gallant soldiers.
Mohammed said this Monday at the presentation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Sub-Sahara Africa’s economic outlook report in Abuja.
He said the sum was a far cry from the N1, 000 daily allowance Nigerian soldier gets daily at the battlefield.
Mohammed, who heads the humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation arm of the PCNI, said the Boko Haram group now operated like a cartel.
Speaking on the modus operandi of the group and how the fighters were being incentivised, the PCNI chief said: “I will give you an example. The Nigerian military for example, gets N1, 000 per day for being in the North-east, at the war front, as an allowance, the same North-east, where if you are a member of Boko Haram you get $3,000 per day as allowance. So it is lucrative.
“Sometimes, they even give you money upfront. So, we must do something about the youths from where they are recruiting.”
On the way out, Mohammed said: “If it is amnesty that will guarantee that peace, then we have to think of it. Most importantly, we need to deplete the army of youths on the streets and take them away from the streets so that Boko Haram does not recruit them.
“Don’t forget, they (Boko Haram members) are being killed on daily basis but they are also recruiting on daily basis. They are getting people to recruit because it is lucrative.”
“Part of the reason why this problem has refused to go away is the abundant natural resources in the Lake Chad Region. We need to think outside the box. It is now more like a cartel.
“When you see the type of weapons they use, it is more sophisticated than the type of weapons that our military are using.”
He further stated the Boko Haram menace “is like a guerilla warfare. As we are here discussing, if somebody here is a member of Boko Haram, he will not say anything.
“He goes out there to strategise and comes back. It therefore means the conventional ways of fighting warfare cannot work here. It therefore calls for thinking outside of the box.”
Service chiefs get marching order on bandits
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhar has directed security chiefs to, within the shortest possible time, root out the bandits terrorising parts of Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna states.
A statement by Senior Special Assistant Media to Katsina state Governor Abdu Labaran Malumfashi quoted the president as saying this through Governor Aminu Bello Masari during a visit to some communities affected by the banditry in the state.
The governor visited Yar Santa and Tsamiyar Jino villages in Kankara local government to condole and commiserate with the people over recent terrorist attacks on the communities resulting in the loss of lives and property worth tens of millions of naira.
Condemning the bandits’ activities, President Buhari said the situation was unacceptable, stating that government was willing, ready and adequately prepared to deal with the criminality, and would not spare anybody, regardless of their position, found to be complicit and complacent in the activities of the criminals.
“We will not hesitate to deal appropriately with anyone found to be connected or in any way involved, in the activities of the bandits”.
He said “peace and normalcy must return to the area, as securing the lives and property of citizens is the sole raison’ deter for government, and failure to do that is tantamount to shirking the responsibility of the oath of office.
“Be rest assured that the government will not abandon you in your hour of need, because we will take the fight to the bandits wherever they may be,”
With renewed determination of government and the commitment of the security agencies, he said it was only a matter of time before the activities of the bandits were successfully contained, the same way the Boko Haram insurgency had been contained.
He said “security had been beefed up in the affected areas recently with the deployment of additional personnel, including over 100 policemen, the launching of special military and police operations on ground and air, as well as provision of additional formal and informal logistics.”
Buhari further said security was “the business of everybody, more so that there is no sufficient security personnel to be posted to every part of the country in adequate measure.
“Security and the maintenance of law and order are beyond the capacity of the men and officers of the security agencies. Therefore, there is the need for everyone, especially leaders in the society, to contribute towards ensuring the safety and security of their respective environment.
“It’s the duty of parents, religious and other opinion leaders to educate the youth and monitor their activities to ensure that such are not in conflict with the interest of the larger society.”
While asking members of the society to volunteer useful information that may assist the security personnel discharge their responsibilities satisfactorily, the president said his administration would continue to interface with relevant stakeholders with a view to finding lasting peace.
He also said government would render financial assistance to the families of those murdered by the bandits and those who lost their property as a result of arson.
