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• NPA donates materials to IDPs
The Boko Haram insurgency has cost the Yobe State government over N15 billion, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, has said.
“We’ve spent over N15 billion since the insurgency started between 2011 till date, but, the good thing is that Yobe is now safe and we’re preparing to resettle those that were displaced.
“We want them to move back and we’re awaiting the clearance of the military to do that,” Gaidam stated.
Gaidam, who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Baba Malam Wali, thanked NPA’s management, saying the collaborated with the military, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders to achieve the peace it is currently enjoying.
The governor said there is no area in the state under the control of Boko Haram, adding that the war against the Boko Haram group has gulped over N15 billion from the state’s treasury since it started.
“We worked with and assisted the military, NEMA and the Red Cross, among others. We also assisted those affected by bomb blasts and gunshots during the battle against insurgency.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) took relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Yobe and Borno states as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to ameliorate the pains and sufferings of families affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
The gesture, it was gathered, stems from the belief of its Managing Director that the money generated from the nation’s sea ports is meant to develop the country and support its people.
The initiative, according to NPA Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi, who was represented by the Chairman of the Committee on IDPs, Mr Yahaya Bukar Gana, aligns with NPA’s CSR.
Abdullahi said the agency would continue to focus on working with government to deliver basic assistance and support to displaced people and IDPs in all the affected states. He assured that such gesture would be regular.
All members of the committee on IDPs from NPA were present at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) offices in Yola and Maiduguri where the items were kept after proper handing over of the relief materials to the governors of the two states.
In Borno, Governor Kashim Shettima who personally took delivery of the relief materials at the Government House, Maiduguri, expressed appreciation to the management of the NPA for the support and urged other agencies in the maritime industry to emulate NPA.
“On behalf of the people and government of Borno State, we wish to register our profound gratitude for your kind gesture over the insurgence that is currently confronting us.
“The people of Borno will forever be grateful to you for your kind gesture and we pray to Allah that this madness shall soon be over,” the Governor said.
The relief materials donated to each of the states included 100 bags of beans, 100 bags of millets, 100 bags of maize, 150 mattresses, 200 kegs of vegetable oil, 300 bales of nylon mats and 10 bales of blankets.
Mohamud seeks international coalition against terrorism
Boko Haram fighters were trained in Somalia before returning to Nigeria, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud , said yesterday.
He spoke at a security conference in Germany.
“Without a stable Somalia, the whole region of the Horn of Africa will remain unstable and by and large, the African continent. There are proofs and evidence that (for) some time Boko Haram has been trained in Somalia and they went back to Nigeria,” he said.
“The terrorists are so linked together, they are associated and so organised, (that) we the world we need to be so organised,” he said.
It was not clear from his comments whether he believed al Shabaab was still training Boko Haram fighters, who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
Somalia’s al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda and wants to overthrow the Somali government and impose a harsh version of Islamic law, claimed responsibility for a blast this month that punched a hole in the fuselage of a plane.
Somalia, plagued by political in-fighting, corruption and attacks by al Shabaab insurgents, has recently made limited progress towards creating a functioning political system.
The Federal Government, the World Bank, the European Union, and the United Nations (UN) have concluded a two-week recovery and assessment mission in the Northeastern States ravaged by insurgency as part of its on-going Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) programme.
Led by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Dr. Mariam Masha, the recovery and assessment team visited Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, Borno and Yobe states.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the team actively engaged with governors, decision-makers civil society organisations, private sector players, traditional rulers, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), emergency management, humanitarian and relief agencies and other active partners in the recovery efforts in the affected states.
The statement said: “The field visit by the technical and humanitarian experts from the global institutions, the statement said, primarily focused on validating the processes through which data are to be collected and how to develop internationally acceptable mechanisms to maintain contact with focal points in all the States.
“This assessment will also form the pivot for planning a broad-based public sector recovery programme for the Northeast, as well as leverage, synchronise and inform the financing initiatives and projects of Nigeria’s development partners, civil society organisations and private sector groups and organisations,” it said.
Don’t starve troops of fund, says Onaiyekan
A lso yesterday, The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, urged the Federal Government to remain steadfast in restoring Nigeria to the path of sanity, probity and accountability.
Onaiyekan said at the opening ceremony of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), held at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria in Abuja: “This is not a smooth and easy process, we all are going through, but we need to go beyond the legal processes, to a serious national moral spiritual rebirth.
“We need to explore alternative and parallel strategies, based on the moral principles of repentance, reparation and reconciliation.”
He assured the government that the Catholic Church and some other religious groups were prepared to play a positive role in the on-going war against corruption.
Cardinal Onaiyekan recalled the efforts of the Church towards eliminating corruption, with prayers, warnings and exhortations.
“We have to put concrete structures of collaboration in place in the on-going war against corruption.
“The religious institutions of the nation cannot remain aloof while a moral, spiritual battle is raging in the country,” he added.
Cardinal Onaiyekan praised the government for the success recorded so far in the fight against the Boko-Haram insurgents.
“It is hoped that the alleged criminal diversion of funds meant for arms into private pockets has now stopped.
“Our gallant troops must never again be left with inadequate resources to carry out the dangerous task imposed on them on our behalf,” he said.
He also urged the government to encourage dialogue across and within religious communities to bring about a lasting reconciliation among diverse groups.
The Cardinal pointed out that the insurgency in the Northeast had revealed the significant presence of Christian population in the zone.
“We still have on our hands a lot of healing and reconciliation to do before our displaced people can safely return to their homes, farms and grazing land.
“They deserve special attention in the programmes of reconstruction and rehabilitation,” he stressed.
Business has resumed in the commercial border town of Mubi, Adamawa State, one year after its invasion by the Boko Haram insurgents, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The Chairman, Mubi Chamber of Commerce, Alhaji Abdulkadir Musa, spoke in an interview with NAN yesterday.
He said: “We are grateful to God. Business has resumed in Mubi. We are experiencing shortage of shops, as you can see some people are displaying their goods at the roadsides.”
He said traders are coming from Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic.
Musa said the government had begun rebuilding parts of Mubi main market affected by the fire caused by insurgents.
He said most banks had reopened, while cattle and grain dealers, particularly those from the South, had returned.
The chairman thanked the government for awarding 14 road projects “to open up” the town, but urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate the federal road linking the area to other parts of the country.
“I enjoin the Federal Government to improve power supply and access to loan by our members, to boost small scale industries,” Musa said.
He hailed security agencies for restoring peace to Mubi, saying since the recapture of the town from the insurgents, there had been peace.
NAN correspondent, who visited the town, reports that besides the resumption of socio-economic activities in Mubi and its environs, the three tertiary institutions: Adamawa State University, Federal Polytechnic, Mubi and School of Health Technology, have resumed.
It is difficult to ignore the narrative of Senator Baba Garbai (Borno Central) on the current state of the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State. For one, he represents an important segment of the state’s senatorial districts which places him in a vantage position to monitor the facts on the ground and feelings of his constituents on the progress of the war.
For another, he recently visited that constituency to commiserate with and share relief materials to those displaced by the murderous attacks of the insurgents which left 85 people dead with thousands displaced. When in the course of that visit, he cried out that insurgents are still present in more than 20 local government areas of the state, it was difficult to dismiss him with a wave of the hand.
This is more so as he is not known to harbour any ulterior or political motive to have spoken the way he did. He must have spoken out of frustration due to the wide disparity between what he had previously been fed with and the stark realities on the ground.
But he shocked the nation when he claimed that only the three local government areas of Maiduguri metropolis, Kwaya Kusar and Bayo are safe from Boko Haram menace due to strong presence of the military and police; while three others- Mobbar, Kala Balge and Abaddam are 100 per cent held by the insurgents.
Apparently rattled by this, the Director of Defence Information Brig-Gen Rabe Abubakar and Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima made spirited efforts to clarify the state of the war. Before then, President Buhari had in an interview with the BBC restated that Boko Haram insurgency has been “technically defeated”. He had also towards the end of last year, declared that Nigeria “has technically won the war” against Boko Haram.
When prodded further by the BBC on the claim given recent attacks on Dalori and others, he said: “My own description is that they can no longer mobilize enough forces to attack police and army barracks and destroy aircraft like they used to do. But they can regroup and go after soft targets”.
For Shettima, “in the past Boko Haram used to come in commando style to attack, seize and occupy communities and hold residents hostage and administer territories; that is occupation. We no longer have that in Borno”.
Abubakar on his part said “attacks on soft targets do not translate to occupation of territories or some parts of Borno state or the North-East”.
We shall examine the interpretations given by President Buhari, Shettima and Abubakar on progress in the war vis-à-vis what Garbai actually said. The senator’s view was that Boko Haram is still present in 20 local governments of Borno State. He mentioned the three local government areas that are in the full hands of the murderous sect. But Shettima and Abubakar want us to draw a line between Boko Haram seizing and occupying territories and Boko Haram attacking communities (soft targets). By their logic, the group no longer occupies communities, hold residents hostage and administer such territories. But they attack communities.
The key terms here are occupation, administration of territories and holding residents hostage. And we are being made to believe the absence of all these constitute both the necessary and sufficient conditions to declare the war against insurgency in the North-East won. That is where the problem lies.
Even if we admit this account of the story, how correct will it be to claim as the authorities have severally done that Boko Haram has been totally decimated? To what extent can we sustain the claim that the war has been technically won on account of these claims? Or, are those who attack communities without occupying and administering them as used to be the case; operating from the moon? Would it have been possible for a decimated rag-tag insurgent group to wreck the huge havoc that left Dalori and other communities, a former ghost of themselves if they do not occupy some space in that state?
If these posers do not sufficiently shed light on the inherent contradictions in the verdict that the war on Boko Haram has been won, or the claim that the sect does not occupy any territory in Borno, the statement by the Nigerian Army last week in which they catalogued the successes they made in the fight speaks for itself. They gave a detailed account of the various Boko Haram camps they cleared and hundreds of civilian hostages they freed. At the terrorists’ camp in Bulagana, troops rescued 40 civilians held hostage there while at another in Bubumri village they killed 25 terrorists, captured eight and freed 103 hostages among others. There would have been no hostages to free or camps to clear, if the sect does not occupy any territory. That is the contradiction that has been laid bare.
When you pair the above with the attacks the insurgents mounted in the last couple of weeks, the contention that they no longer occupy territories and therefore cannot mount serious attacks, breaks down irretrievably. So also is the conclusion that the war has been won since the assumptions on which it was premised, cannot stand empirical test.
As evident from the account of the army, Boko Haram still has camps and harbours hostages in the state. If they do not control parts of the state, they would not have been in a position to detain the hostages freed by the army. That is just commonsensical. Even then, administering territories; attacking military and police barracks and holding residents’ hostage is not all there is to the war.
The next issue copiously canvassed to support the alleged defeat is that they have been so decimated that they now take resort to attacking soft targets. By this, the impression is created that the so-called soft targets are of no serious consequence in the overall calculations of the war. Its corollary is that once it has come to attacking soft targets, then we can safely presume that the war has been largely or technically won.
This cannot also stand especially given that the so-called soft targets were the main objects of attack by the insurgents at the budding stages of their campaign. Churches and other places of worship bore the brunt. The objective was to create maximum impact and instill fear in the people and they succeeded. Attacks on soft targets cannot be consigned to the realm of insignificance in the overall assessment of the progress of the war. Ipso facto, that war cannot be said to have been won when soft targets are again under unrestrained assault.
Those who canvass this view seem to have lost sight of the reality that we are concerned with an asymmetrical warfare. Given the fact of the above, the argument that the war has been won because the insurgents are no longer in a position to attack police and military barracks or bring down aircrafts cannot fly. Of much concern in the overall assessment of the progress of the war is the relative ease with which the insurgents destroy, raze down, kill or abduct these soft targets.
Beyond this, the problem that has brought the government to this pass is the issue of deadline and the attempt to make political capital of the fight. Had they not been a hurry to set a tenuous deadline for such a non conventional war as terrorism, perhaps they would not have found themselves in the current position of speaking from both sides of the mouth.
For now, the advice of US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, Ms. Linda Thomas-Greenfield should suffice. She had while addressing US House of Representatives at the Capitol Visitor Center last week said “There are no overnight solutions. The challenge of defeating Boko Haram is going to require long term dedication to this effort”. I hope somebody is listening!
The Federal Government, the World Bank, European Union, and the United Nations have concluded a two-week recovery and assessment mission in the Northeast region ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency.
The mission was part of ongoing Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) programme initiated by the global agencies.
Led by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Dr. Mariam Masha, the recovery and assessment team visited Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, Borno and Yobe States.
A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, said during the visits, the team actively engaged with state governors, decision-makers as well as top government functionaries, civil society organizations, private sector players, traditional rulers, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), emergency management agencies, humanitarian and relief agencies and other active partners in the recovery efforts in the affected states.
The statement said: “In the course of the tour in the affected areas, the team of officials visited several camps and resettlement centres for the IDPs in the different states as well as insurgency –ravaged public institutions like hospitals, markets and military formations.
“The team also gained first hand knowledge of human and physical conditions in the camps and resettlement centres affording them the opportunity to empathize with the people and also reassured them of the commitment of the Buhari administration towards addressing their challenges.
“In furtherance of the importance of the recovery and assessment mission, the team’s top level engagements with relevant stakeholders centred on sector recovery and needs assessment strategy in the three major components of Infrastructure and social services, peace building, stability and social cohesion as well as the economic recovery of the affected people in the six states.”
Cameroon soldiers killed at least 27 Boko Haram fighters after launching a cross-border operation in Goshi, Nigeria that also resulted in the death of one soldier, a senior military official said.
Capt. Yari Emmanuel, the head of Cameroon’s Rapid Intervention Battalion, was also killed and at least six other soldiers were injured in the operation early Thursday.
The terror sect had launched a series of attacks in Cameroon earlier this week, said Kodji.
“At least 27 Boko Haram fighters were killed in Thursday morning’s operation,” said Gen. Jacob Kodji, commander of Cameroon troops in the area.
The soldiers remain on the battle front there, he said.
Regional forces from Cameroon and Nigeria have since December 2015 been launching raids on Boko Haram strongholds along their borders, especially around Ashigashiya.
Ashigashiya straddles the border of northern Cameroon and Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari reaffirmed yesterday that Boko Haram is not holding any Nigerian territory.
In what looks like a veiled response to the claim by Borno Central Senator Baba Gabai that three Borno State local government areas and about 50 per cent of the state’s land mass are still under the control of the sect, the President told visiting German President Joachim Gauck that Nigeria has taken back all its territories.
Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima and Senate Leader Ali Ndume have equally described Gabai’s statement as untrue.
Buhari said at the joint news conference with Germany’s ceremonial President: “It is a pity Boko Haram welcomed you by explosions in Maiduguri that took so many lives, but I have attempted to explain in so many fora that Boko Haram is not what it used to be.
“While they were firmly holding 14 out of 774 local governments when we came in, they are not holding any local government now.
“What they have resorted to is using improvised explosive devices to cause maximum casualties on soft targets as they did yesterday (Tuesday).”
He said the sect can no longer attack military and police formations.
The President also urged Germany to support Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.
According to him, Nigeria deserves a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, considering its landmass, population, and position in Africa.
“Outside the bilateral, on the United Nations, Nigeria as an African and an uncommon country thinks that we are qualified by our number, by our size and by our position in Africa maybe to have a permanent seat in the United Nations. We hope Germany will support us.’’
Buhari expressed appreciation to the German government for its support and assistance to Nigeria.
He cited the invitation extended to him to address the Group of Seven Industrialised nations (G-7) under the chairmanship of Germany.
“I have to start with thanking Germany very sincerely for the invitation extended to me when Germany was chairing the G-7. Within the week I was sworn in, I was invited and when I went the first point on the agenda was security and security against Boko Haram.
“This showed the genuine concern the G-7 has on the security in Nigeria.”
Buhari also thanked the people and government of Germany for their support during the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria.
Buhari said the government had redoubled efforts to ensure that the people in internally displaced camps are rehabilitated.
“More than 60% of the two million people in IDPs are women and children and more than 60% of them are children, and more than 60% of the children are orphaned.
“Some of them don’t know where they are from they don’t know their parents. This is a pathetic situation the leadership of this government is facing because the least we should is to quickly resettle those children, if possible, try and identify their neighbourhoods,” he said.
He lamented that the money allocated for the purchase of military hardware was shared and pocketed by officials.
He said as part of economic plans for the country, the government was already working at diversifying Nigeria’s mono-economy through agriculture and the exploration of the solid mineral sector.
Mr. Gauck announced a pledge by the European Union to donate $50million to support Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram and resettlement of IDPs .
”We as Europe will support that initiative with $50 million.
“We commend your good governance. Good governance is not possible without peace.
“Germany will support Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram and we would continue to provide support for the displaced people on a humanitarian basis,” Mr. Gauck said.
He also pledged that the German government would support the Multinational Joint Task Force with equipment to tackle Boko Haram.
“Mr President, you personally, have made it very clear that it is in a very determined way that you intend to fight Boko Haram and its method that deeply violates principles of humanity.
“That is something that meets with the respect of the people in Europe and in Germany.
“And we intend to support you in that and we will continue to offer our support to you in that endeavour.
“We believe that it is very good approach you have chosen and that is something for which we will make available financial support.’’
Gauck, who condoled with Nigeria over the bomb attacks on IDPs in Dikwa, said his country would continue to assist victims of terrorism in Nigeria.
He expressed the readiness of some German companies to help revamp moribund industries in Nigeria.
Gauck, who applauded the ongoing fight against corruption, urged Buhari to remain steadfast in ensuring good governance and rapid development of the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday declared that none of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria is under the control of the insurgents, Boko Haram.
The Senator representing Borno Central, Baba Kaka Garbai had recently claimed that more than 50 percent of Borno State was under the control of Boko Haram.
Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima and the Nigerian Army had swiftly disagreed with the senator’s position.
Buhari, at a joint briefing with the visiting German President, Mr. Joachim Guack at the Presidential Villa, Abuja maintained that the senator’s position was incorrect.
He said: “It is a pity Boko Haram welcomed you by explosions in Maidugiri that took so many lives, but I have attempted to explain in so many fora that Boko haram is not what it used to be.
“While they were firmly holding 14 out of 774 local governments when we came in, they are not holding any local government now. What they have resorted to is using improvised explosive devices to cause maximum casualties on soft targets as they did yesterday, doing what they are capable of doing now,” he said.
According to him, the group can no longer organize conventional attacks on military, police installations or take hold of towns.
He said: “I think they are not able to do that. They send groups to go and kill vulnerable targets. Having said that, our efforts have to be redoubled to make sure that the people in internally displaced camps have been rehabilitated especially the children.
“More than 60% of the 2 million people in IDPs are women and children and more than 60% of them are children and more than 60% of the children are orphaned. Some of them don’t know where they are from, they don’t know their parents, this is a pathetic situation the leadership of
this government is facing because the least we should is to quickly resettle those children if possible try and identify their neighborhoods , repair the schools health centers and maybe part of the village so that they can get out of the trauma that they are in,” he said.
The President commended the response from G7 in terms of Training teams for institutions.
“Help has been sent but what we do is to try to get our own committee under Gen T.Y. Danjuma which has made some efforts where he himself and Dangote has made some special contributions to start doing something in the field and we asked those who are coming to help, like NGOs from within or outside the country to meet them,” he added.
He also called for the support of Germany to make sure Nigeria emerges a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
“Outside bilateral, in the United Nations, Nigeria an African country feels that we are qualified by our number, by our size, by our position in Africa to have a seat in the United Nations. We hope that Germany will support us,” he stated
While thanking Germany for the help they extended to Nigeria during the 2015 general elections, he said that his party is in liaison with the parties in Germany, which is basically under humanitarian concern that a country of at least 170 million people with very volatile political
development should find peace.
He also thanked Germany for assisting Nigeria during the Ebola and polio scourge in Nigeria and their help in the IDP camps and North-East.
“We are very grateful for the aid Germany continues to give us through the NGOs and directly to the Federal Government. We also like to mention to the president and their companies that their work are appreciated by Nigerians.”
Speaking through an interpreter, the German President condoled Nigeria for the recent terror attacks in the country.
Commending Buhari for his approach against Boko Haram, he pledged more support of his country towards defeat of the terrorists.
He announced $15 million support for Nigerian’s joint forces with neighbouring countries to defeat the terrorists.
He called for renewal of trust and upholding the rule of law in the country.
According to him, Nigeria is playing an important role in the African continent.
Nigerian troops have recorded success in the fight against terrorists and insurgency in the Northeast, Army Director of Public Relations Sani Usman said yesterday.
In one operation, he claimed that troops of 7 Brigade Quick Reaction Force (QRF), Multinational Joint Task Force, inflicted casualties on Boko Haram terrorists when the troops staged an ambush against them at Kekeno, Kukawa Local Government Area.
The operation caused a major setback to the insurgents, the army spokesperson added.
Col. Usman said: “During the operation, the gallant troops killed five suspected Boko Haram terrorists, recovered one Toyota Buffalo vehicle, three AK-47 rifles, two knives, a horse and other locally fabricated weapons.
“The insurgents were believed to be on a retaliatory mission following the killing of a suspected Boko Haram Ameer during an ambush by our troops at Kekeno.
“In another development, troops of 118 Task Force Battalion patrolling Mile 90-Kekeno general area, have killed one suspected Boko Haram terrorist and captured two other insurgents.
“Similarly, troops of Army Headquarters Special Forces on patrol to Yale came across Boko Haram terrorists’ camp at Bulagana, cleared the camp and rescued 40 civilians held hostage. Unfortunately, one soldier sustained gunshot wounds during the operation. He has since been evacuated and is responding to treatment.”
He added that the 151 Task Force Battalion of 21 Brigade while on patrol encountered Boko Haram terrorists at Budumri village during which they killed 25 Boko Haram terrorists and arrested eight others. “The troops also rescued 103 civilians held hostage by the terrorists. They also recovered one Golf car and motorcycles and bicycles. The troops also cleared terrorists’ camp at Bolungu village. The same unit also rescued 181 persons and captured eight Boko Haram terrorists. Among those rescued were 18 men, 90 women and 77 children,” Col. Usman said.