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Grief-stricken Borno state governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to bring in mercenaries if Nigeria is to win the Boko Haram war.
This was among many other suggestions made by the governor while receiving in audience Senate President Ahmed Lawan-led federal delegation on a condolence visit to the state over the death of 43 farmers killed Saturday by gunmen believed to be insurgents.
On the delegation were Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Ministers of Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, Communications and Digital Economy, Ali Pantami and that of State for Agriculture, Mustapha Baba Shehuri.
Others were National Security Adviser Major General Babagana Monguno(rtd) and Senior Special Assistant(Media and Publicity) to the President Garba Shehu.
They were received at the airport by Deputy Governor Usman Umar Gadafu.
Although the UN put the figure at 110, the Nigerian military authority faulted the claim.
The massacre took place at Zabarmari community in Jere local government area of the state, while the victims were buried Sunday.
Effort under Jonathan
The immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan, had in the build-up to the 2015 general elections, engaged South Africa and a few other countries as mercenaries to confront the Boko Haram fighters.
Though the initiative yielded some successes, this was however short-lived as the Buhari administration disengaged the mercenaries in the belief that a well-equipped Nigerian military could tackle the insurgents.
Zulum speaks
Receiving the delegation in Maudguri, Governor Zulum suggested a six-point agenda if the terrorists are to be defeated by the Nigerian government.
He said: “One of our recommendations as possible solutions to end the insurgency is the immediate recruitment of our youths into military and paramilitary services to complement the efforts of the Nigerian forces.
“Our second recommendation is to engage the services of our immediate neighbours, especially the government of Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic, in clearing the remnants of Boko Haram hiding in the shores of the Lake Chad.
“Our third recommendation is for him to engage the services of the mercenaries to clear the entire Sambisa forest.
“Our fourth recommendation is for him to provide the police and the military, with armed resistant armoured personnel carriers and other related equipment.
“We are also soliciting the support of the federal government to support the Borno state repatriation of our displaced persons currently residing in Cameroon and Niger Republic.”
While calling on the federal government to increase its level of support to people of the state, he said there were no coordinated efforts to end the 11-year insurgency.
Zulum, who believed the Saturday massacre and similar killings in the past were avoidable if adequate support and infrastructure such as good and motorable roads were put in place for the Northeast and military.
The governor said the federal government-owned ministry of works had not constructed or rehabilitated roads in the last 25 years “in Borno State and most parts of the North-east.
“If the federal can fix the bad roads in Borno and the North-east, the insurgency would be reduced by 60 per cent.”
Speaking on arrival at the Government House Maiduguri, leader of the delegation, Senate President Lawan expressed the federal government’s sympathy over the dastardly act.
While commiserating with the government and people of the state, the delegation reiterated the federal government’s commitment to ending the over a decade war.
Lawan said President Buhari was aware that some other farmers in Zabarmari were yet to be accounted for at the time of their visit.
He said: “No efforts will be spared, as the government will do anything and everything until we take the fight against insurgency to their enclaves.
“In this regard, the government will continue to provide resources to our armed forces and other security agencies and also intensify bilateral and multilateral operations with our neighbours, particularly to ensure that the insurgents have nowhere to fight when they are chased out of our country.”
The team was also at the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Elkanemi, who also called for more support from the federal government.
The governor took the visiting team to the scene of the attack where members of the delegation condoled with the bereaved families.
‘Slain farmers not cleared’
In a related development, the Presidency Monday said the slain 43 rice farmers were not cleared by the military to go to their f arms when they were attacked and murdered.
In an interview with the BBC monitored in Abuja, Shehu said although he did not blame the victims for going to their farms, the “truth must be told that they were not supposed to be on their farm because they did not get permission from the Nigerian Army.”
“The government is sad that this tragic incident has happened. 43 or thereabout of innocent farm workers, most of them had their throats slit by a heartless band of terrorists. People need to know what it is like in the Lake Chad Basin area.”
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The presidential spokesman also said: “Much of those areas have been liberated from Boko Haram terrorists but there are a number of spaces that have not been cleared for the return of villagers who have been displaced.
“So, ideally, all of these places ought to pass the test of military clearances before farmers or settlers resume activities on those fields.
“I am not exactly blaming the farmers but the truth has to be said. Was there any clearance by the military which is in total control of those areas? Did anybody ask them to resume activity?
“I have been told by the military leaders that they had not been so advised and certainly, therefore, it was a window that the terrorists exploited.”
Making further clarification in a statement, Shehu said he didn’t blame victims for the attack as being speculated in some quarters.
He said: “The State of Borno is essentially a military zone up till now that we are talking and much of what people do; much of where they go are governed by the exigencies of security.
“Routinely, traders, administration officials and even UN agencies get the green light to go to many of the areas to avoid trouble.
“Information from security agencies says that the Zabarmari marshlands are infested with land mines and movements in around those areas subject to military oversight.
“No one is delighted with the massacre in Zabarmari and there is nothing anybody will gain by playing blame games.
“The question I tried to answer on BBC was: did the security sign off on the area as being free of mines and terrorists? The honest answer is, no.
“I’m human with tons of compassion and empathy, and could not have said that the victims deserved their fate for ignoring security clearance.
“I was merely explaining the mode of military operations in the war zone of the Northeast. There are areas that are still volatile that require security clearance which is intended to put people out of harm’s way.
“When tragedies occur, questions arise in terms of how something happened in order to avoid future recurrence. Informing the military of our movements in an area of volatility and uncertainty is intended to preserve public safety.
“Explaining why something happened doesn’t mean I have no sympathy for the victims. I was just explaining the military procedures on the safe movement of the people and not supporting the death of the victims.”
DHQ
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters Monday provided an insight into how the victims fell for the insurgents’ ‘tricks.’
It also said the attitude of some locals who often refused to provide useful information to security agencies, constituted some setbacks to the insurgency fight.
Defence spokesman, Major General John Enenche said this while featuring on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television early morning programme, monitored by Blueprint in Abuja.
He said: “We cannot force people to bring out statement. Even this one, they deceived them that they are preaching to them, and that has been the main problem. We are going to overcome this.
“It’s like cornering the people. First, they said we are going to preach to them, deceived them. Like the person that commented on the issue, they did not even hear gunshot, it’s like cornering them.
“That has been our worries, it is a concern for us. For instance, just like it has been said, we believe strongly that you need a guide, you need a lead. Would they tell us? That is the question we have to ask. Yes sometimes, and most times no. And that was one of the issues. We have been ensuring to overcome with civil-military cooperation activities, reaching out to them, even sending people by proxy to talk to them.
“Those are the things that have been one of the banes of the final success in the whole of this operation.
“Look at another situation, our patrol will pass through a place, by the time you are going, some people will be looking at you, when you are coming back, you will meet an IED planted on the road, and people saw them, they won’t tell us. So that’s the area I think we are all working together as stakeholders.
“And it is not possible to force information out of people. It’s not possible, just like they say you force a horse to the river, but not to drink water. So all we are trying to do is to build up their confidence in the system and encourage them that look, this is not good for you. Now they do not expect that this will happen, even those ones that they deceived, that they are preaching to them,” Enenche further said
On the casualty figure put at 110 by the United Nations, the DHQ said contrary to the report, the Army has so far counted 43.
“The military assisted in the counting. Some people ran to the bush, and are trickling back into the villages. They are still counting,” Eneche said.
UN errs
But, the UN was quick to counter itself when it said its earlier statement on 110 farmers killed was not rightly sourced.
Head of Public Information in Nigeria, Eve Sabbagh, made the clarification Monday night. It said: “Please note the number of 110 civilians killed on Saturday’s attack is an unconfirmed number and the correct version of the statement by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator is the one published yesterday on Reliefweb and used on OCHA Nigeria’s Twitter account.”
Lai
Also alluding reason for the setback in the insurgency fight, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said foreign countries were denying Nigeria access to weapons to fight the Boko Haram fighters.
The minister spoke Monday in an interview with journalists at the Government House Makurdi, after he paid a courtesy call on Benue state Governor Samuel Ortom.
He said the Buhari administration would never be deterred in its duty of protecting lives and property, but that the people must also understand that they were dealing with terrorists who are financed globally.
The minister further said more support was needed from the global partners to defeat the war against terrorism.
“We will never stop protecting lives and livelihood. But we must also understand that we are dealing with terrorists who are financed globally and we also need more support from global partners.
“For instance, Nigeria had made attempts to acquire better and more effective weapons and platforms to deal with the terrorists, but for one reason or the other, we have been denied this weapon.
“And without adequate weapons we may remain at the mercy of the terrorists, but you see fighting terrorism is not a joke.”
“What actually happened in Borno State is quite unfortunate, but we also have to look at the strategy of the terrorists.
“Terrorists use media and publicity as oxygen and so when they go on this kind of wild killing of this magnitude, a dying terrorists group will now suddenly spring to life. It does not mean the Government is not doing enough.
“Terrorists everywhere have the same concept which is a group of people who are extremists in their thought and who do not believe that me and you should be alive,” he added.
On his mission, Mohammed said he was in the state for the handover of the National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism NIHOTOUR, North-Central Campus Makurdi, to the federal government by the state government.
Governor Samuel Ortom while speaking at handing over of the institute requested that at least 50℅of the state indigenes should be considered for federal appointments in the hospitality and tourism sector.
He called on Benue citizens and states within North-Central to take advantage of the wide range of professional courses available at the institute.
