Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has urged the Nigerian Armed Forces to change strategies in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram to facilitate a successful implementation of the counter-insurgency campaign. The Special Adviser to the governor on Public Relations and Strategy, Mr Isa Gusa, quoted Zulum as saying this in a statement on Wednesday in Maiduguri.
Gusau said the governor made the call when the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), paid a sympathy visit to the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar El-Kanemi, over the insurgents’ mayhem in Auno community. The attack claimed 30 lives, 18 vehicles and several houses.
He quoted the governor, who acknowledged the successes recorded by the military in the past three years, as calling for new tactics to check resurgence of insurgents’ activities in the state.
“Your Excellency, between March 2019 till date, we have started witnessing horrific and spontaneous attacks by the insurgents, which has resulted into the loss of lives and properties of our people.
“We are calling upon the Nigerian military to change strategies and we can borrow a leaf from the success our military was able to hugely record in the years 2016 and 2017 with a view to ending the insurgency.
“We need to keep taking the war to enclaves of the insurgents in the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin, Sambisa Forest and some notable areas,” Zulum was quoted as saying in the statement.
The governor, however, commended the retired general for his commitment to ending the insurgency and his consistent empathy to the people of the state.
“Let me appreciate Mr President for associating with us at this our very trying moment. I am so surprised that we have forgotten the past,” he said.
Zulum, who noted that he could not ignore the current unfortunate situation, added that “the people of the state still remember the days before Buhari’s emergence, when 20 out of the 27 local government areas were in the hands of Boko Haram while all the five routes into Borno State were largely inaccessible with exception of Maiduguri-Kano road.In addition to sporadic bombings and killings in the state capital, Maiduguri.
“Close to about 20 local government areas resettled under Buhari. In fact, in the year 2016/2017, we celebrated the demise of the Boko Haram insurgency that has unfortunately returned.”The statement also quoted Buhari as reiterating his commitment to end insurgency, fight corruption and lead the country to economic recovery.
The president called on the people of Borno to continue to cooperate with and support the military and other security agencies to end insurgency.