“They Are Recruiting More Members”

State governors from the North East geopolitical zone of the country yesterday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to address the causes of the deteriorating security situation in the zone without further delay, lamenting that the rate at which more members were being recruited into terror groups in the region calls for concern.

At a security meeting with the president and security chiefs at the presidential villa, the governors recommended that more sophisticated equipment should be provided for the Nigeria Police Force in order to cover the manpower deficit in the nation’s military.

Borno State governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, disclosed these to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.

The meeting was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Service Chiefs, Inspector-general of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the heads of intelligence agencies.

President Buhari gave strong assurances to the governors that security would be restored to Borno State, the Northeast and the nation at large following the recent adoption of new strategies, and the acquisition of modern military equipment.

He said, “Things will improve very soon. We are acquiring modern equipment; some are here, some are being cleared, and others still coming. We need patience with the acquisition of equipment. You need to train the trainers for their usage ahead of their deployment to the field.

“I have listened to your presentation,” he told the governors, who spoke through their chairman and governor of Borno State, Prof.
Babagana Zulum, adding, “I assure you, the Northeast governors, especially that of Borno, that we go to bed and wake up thinking about you, how to secure our country, that is the responsibility of every government. Our party campaigned in 2015 on three major objectives, among which is Security. We said the same thing in 2019 and Nigerians believed us. We are doing our best and we will continue to do even better.”

A statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu, noted that the president lamented the impact on the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, making scarce resources even scarcer, coupled with its severe impact on the supply chain of military equipment and spare parts.

“Our government is doing its best on the question of equipment and the military know. We have equipment coming from some countries. The acquisition of military wares and spares is not easy, especially if you are not the manufacturer,” Buhari emphasised.

The secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; the chief of staff to the president, Prof Ibrahim Gambari and all the Service Chiefs as well as the National Security Adviser who spoke in support of the president assured that things would get better soon.

They made a strong case for strengthening ties among the military, state governments, traditional institutions, and all communities and the residents of the region.

President Buhari also said the federal government would have used the military to win Adamawa and Bauchi State during 2019
general elections but did not.

He noted: “It is true that we lost some states as a ruling party in a developing country, which is normal. I am proud of that because we are impartial, that is why as the ruling party, we lost some states. That means we have our own mistakes.

“Some of those that defeated us are sitting here. We know we are a developing country but we respect our country; otherwise, with the use of Army, the police, and the rest of them, we could have overrun you. We just wanted to show that we are humane and we are Nigerians. We
will continue to do our best”.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai gave an assessment of the current efforts, stressing that Boko Haram terrorists have been flushed out of all the states in the region, leaving Borno State as the last stop.

“There are no Boko Haram terrorists in neighbouring states. They have been pushed out, and now cornered in Borno State. We are coordinating with civil and traditional authorities, mobilising and reinforcing and all we need is patience. We will not relent.”

Also speaking, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar informed the meeting on the acquisition of military aircraft, stressing that the imminent arrival of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), known as drones with more than 10 hours of flying time, would strongly reinforce the battlefront.

Briefs were also received on equipment needs of the Police as well as the changing alliances between criminal gangs and terrorist groups in
the region from the intelligence community.

In their addresses at the beginning of the meeting, the Northeast governors noted that the security situation in the region had greatly improved, compared to the time the president assumed office.

While commending President Buhari for the establishment of the Northeast Development Commission and the take-off of Mambila Dam Power Project, they called for attention to the condition of roads in the region.

They also warned of the consequences of a “War Economy” and the need to address the root causes of the insurgency.

The governors said “a large population in the region, especially in Borno State, has no access to their homes and farmlands” even as they called for efforts to curtail the “increasing trust deficit between the population and the armed forces.”

Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Zulum said his colleagues commended the president on efforts in securing the region.

He said, “The government of the region has commended the efforts of the federal government in securing the region. However, we told the president that there is need for the federal government to address the causes of insurgency, which are not limited to the endemic poverty, hunger among others.

“One of the root causes is that of access to farmlands. People need to go back to their farmlands, people need to be resettled in their original homes so that they can restart their means of livelihood.

“This is one of the reasons the insurgents are recruiting more into the sect and therefore creating an enabling environment will enable the
people to go about their normal duties will no doubt reduce the cases of insurgency.

“We also recommended that Police should be empowered, to be provided with certain state of the art equipment, armoured personnel carrier and so on, with a view to bridging the manpower gap that we are having in the Nigerian military”.

On the reports credited to him that the military was not committed to ending the insurgency, he said, “We have had series of consultations after the attack and I think security is not only about the federal government. There is need for the federal, states and the local government to come together with a view to profiling solutions that will end this crisis in the region. But most importantly, there is war economy in the region and I think that is why we are here”.

“So, I think the government is taking a bold step with a view to ensuring speedy resolution of some of the gray areas that we have in the region”.