By Usman Abubakar, Maiduguri
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has tied the security of Nigeria to the security of the Africa’s Sahel region, asserting that only a secure Sahel can guarantee the security of Nigeria.
He was speaking while receiving a high-powered defense team led by the Defense Minister, Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, who paid a courtesy call on him, Friday in Maiduguri.
“If the Sahel is not secured, the entire Nigeria will not be secured,” the governor asserted, saying, “So there is the need for us to fortify the security situation in the Sahel with a view to ending the security crisis on the entire nation.”
Explaining the need for Nigeria to ensure the security of the Sahel, he said, “Considering our porous borders, they (terrorists) infiltrate into the country through the Sahel,’ complaining, “This is one of our major problems.”
Gov Zulum listed some of the problems militating against a successful war against terror in the Northeast, stressing the porous borders, absence of sustained military operations in the Lake Chad Tumbus (islands) and the gross inadequacy of trained military manpower.
“Manpower is very much essential,” he stressed, admitting, “I’m aware of the constraints of the Nigerian Army because right now you are everywhere all over the country,” pleading, however, “I believe the military will look into the possibility of sending more trained manpower to the Northeast.”
Stressing the need for such military manpower, the governor said, “There is difference between ISWAP/Boko Haram and bandits,” saying, “ISWAP/Boko Haram are terrorists getting support internationally.”
Zulum underscored the need for continuous military operations in the Northeast, lamenting, “What we have now we embark on military operations and then after sometime we disengage; then ISWAP/Boko Haram will then come back to take over areas hitherto liberated by the military.”
The governor pleaded: “I believe the military will work hard to ensure that operations in Borno State, especially in Mandara Hills, Sambisa, Timbuktu Triangle and the Tumbus will be a continuous exercise,” recalling, “There was never a time, since the insurgency started up to date that the military carried out operations in the Tumbus (islands of the Lake Chad).
He expressed the hope that the visit of the defense team would change the terror resurgence narrative in Borno State, saying, “We are optimistic that the security situation will be okay very soon.”
The Defense Minister, Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, had earlier told the governor that the team was in Maiduguri to determine the requirements of the troops of Operation Hadin Kai Theater Command to stem the tide of the terror resurgence.
