The Nation Newspaper

Tag: insurgency

  • ‘Tackling insurgency in Northeast’

    The Chairman of the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN), Mr Allen Onyema, has urged President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to design interventionist programmes to reintegrate restive youths and displaced persons in the Northeast, especially those affected by Boko Haram insurgents.

    Part of the programmes, he said, should be targeted at reintegrating youths affected by activities of the sect.

    Onyema, who congratulated Buhari on his victory, said the programme should be patterned after the Amnesty programme for Niger Delta youths.

    The crisis resolution expert urged Buhari to carry along all sections of the country through the engagement and reintegration of those affected by one crisis or the other.

    He noted that good governance could only be achieved in an atmosphere of peace and stability.

    Onyema said: “First, the victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is well deserved, after many attempts. It is evidence of his commitment and the pursuit of a cause he believes in. For me, he is the Abraham Lincoln of Nigeria. He has become a story in perseverance.

    But, because his victory at the polls is victory for all Nigerians, he must carry everybody along in his administration.

    “Gen. Buhari must, as a matter of urgency, address the challenges of insecurity facing people of the Northeast. The President-elect must handle the issue with sensitivity on account of Nigeria’s ethnic diversity. There is urgent need for national healing, which must begin in earnest by reintegrating people displaced by insurgency, especially people who are deprived.

    “He must design intervention programmes that would give hope to people affected in the Northeast by the activities of the Boko Haram, not just because Gen. Buhari is from the North but because his administration needs to give hope to people who have been affected by the insurgent activities…”

     

  • Insurgency Impasse

    The plangent vociferation

    Of the Northeasterner torments my soul.

    My sleep has taken flight

    For the anguish of Boko Haram victims.

    My nights have been consumed by the distant wailings

    Of orphans living with strange families

    My humanity has been violated by the slaughtered innocence

    Of hapless girls dispersed asunder by brainwashed ragtag terrorists.

    My heart bleeds for youths running errands in Sambisa Forest For the abductors of their future.

    My days are pensive with unanswered queries

    About who is in charge in my country.

    I have grown weary of fanciful peroration

    Of government officials: ‘we’ll soon end insurgency’.

    The taste of lies must be sweet

    In the ears of the conscienceless.

    Who is enjoying the perfidious oration

    Of the godless politician dancing Azonto

    On the graves of his people?

  • How we’ll tackle insurgency, by Buhari

    How we’ll tackle insurgency, by Buhari

    •President-elect chides Fed Govt over Chibok school girls

    President-elect Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled how his administration will tackle insurgency.

    It will involve increased international collaborations, better use of the military and addressing the root causes of insurgency.

    He chided the Federal Government over its handling of the kidnapping of more than 200 Chibok school girls on the night of last April 14.

    “It took nearly two weeks before the government even commented on the crime.

    “This lack of reaction was symptomatic of why the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was swept aside last month, the first time an incumbent president has been successfully voted out of office in the history of our nation.

    “For too long they ruled, not governed, and in doing so had become so focused on their own self-interest and embroiled in corruption that the duty to react to the anguish suffered by their citizens had become alien to them,” Buhari said.

    He said his administration would act differently because, “it is the very reason we have been elected”.

    The president-elect said: “This must begin with honesty as to whether the Chibok girls can be rescued. Currently their whereabouts remain unknown. We do not know the state of their health or welfare, or whether they are even still together or alive.

    “As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them: to do so would be to offer unfounded hope, only to compound the grief if, later, we find we cannot match such expectation.

    “But I say to every parent, family member and friend of the children that my government will do everything in its power to bring them home,” Buhari said.

    According to him, the government would adopt new strategies in the fight against insurgency.

    “What I can pledge, with absolute certainty, is that from the first day of my administration, Boko Haram will know the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this nation of terror, and bring back peace and normalcy to all the affected areas.

    “Until now, Nigeria has been wanting in its response to their threat: With our neighbours fighting hard to push the terrorists South and out of their countries, our military was not sufficiently supported or equipped to push North.

    “As a consequence, the outgoing government’s lack of determination was an accidental enabler of the group, allowing them to operate with impunity in Nigerian territory.

    “That is why the answer to defeating Boko Haram begins and ends with Nigeria. That is not to say that allies cannot help us.

    “My administration would welcome the resumption of a military training agreement with the United States (U.S.), which was halted during the previous administration.

    “We must, of course, have better coordination with the military campaigns our African allies, like Chad and Niger, are waging in the struggle against Boko Haram. But, in the end, the answer to this threat must come from within Nigeria,” Buhari said in a statement.

    He added that more troops would be deployed to the Northeast and away from civilian areas in central and southern Nigeria.

    Buhari also vowed to address the underlying causes of Boko Haram.

    “We must work closer with our neighbours in coordinating our military efforts so an offensive by one army does not see their country’s lands rid of Boko Haram only to push it across the border onto their neighbours’ territory.

    “There are many reasons why vulnerable young people join militant groups, but among them are poverty and ignorance.

    “Indeed Boko Haram, which translates in English, roughly, as ‘Western education is sinful’ preys on the perverted belief that the opportunities that education brings are sinful.

    “If you are starving and young, and in search of answers as to why your life is so difficult, fundamentalism can be alluring.

    “We know this for a fact because former members of Boko Haram have admitted it: They offer impressionable young people money and the promise of food, while the group’s mentors twist their minds with fanaticism.

    “So we must be ready to offer the parts of our country affected by this group an alternative. Boosting education will be a direct counterbalance to Boko Haram’s appeal.

    “In particular, we must educate more young girls, ensuring they will grow up to be empowered through learning to play their full part as citizens of Nigeria and pull themselves up and out of poverty.

    “Indeed, we owe it to the schoolgirls of Chibok to provide as best an education as possible for their fellow young citizens,” Buhari said.

    According to him, Boko Haram feeds off despair and a lack of hope that things can improve.

    “By attacking a site of learning, and kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls, it sought to strike at the very place where hope for the future is nurtured and the promise of a better Nigeria. It is our intention to show Boko Haram that it will not succeed.

    “My government will first act to defeat it militarily and then ensure that we provide the very education it despises to help our people help themselves.

    “Boko Haram will soon learn that, as Nelson Mandela said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,’” Buhari added.

     

     

     

  • Borno elders to Buhari: tackle insurgency

    Borno elders to Buhari: tackle insurgency

    The Borno Elders Forum has urged President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency when he assumes office.

    The group said in a statement: “Borno Elders Forum wishes to extend hearty congratulations to our President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, over their well- deserved victory in the just-concluded presidential election.

    “We see this as a victory for democracy, peace and harmony throughout the country. It is a victory for the Black race and the masses.

    “The wild jubilation, which erupted throughout the country- from Lagos to Baga, Sokoto to Calabar- and indeed worldwide shows that Nigerians do not resort to violence whenever they get what they deserve; they express joy, celebrate and embrace one another, irrespective of their differences. Nigerians deserve you as their President. They got you and expressed their appreciation by way of spontaneous jubilations.

    “This congratulatory message needs to be accompanied by a few words of advice to our incoming President. We feel this is necessary before he assumes office.

    “Over the last few years, Nigerians have been afflicted by insurgency and high level terrorism. For us in Borno State and indeed the Northeast, it is not an exaggeration that we have been taken back several years in terms of all indices of human development. However, we believe it was our destiny.

    “We therefore urge Mr. President-elect to eradicate all forms of insurgency and violence across the country. This should be the starting point. Nothing works without peace.

    “Mr. President-elect needs to address the diversification of sources of revenue generation. We need to pay attention to agriculture and solid minerals development. We also need to accelerate the exploration and exploitation of petroleum deposits, particularly in the Chad Basin, the Benue Trough and other places in the country.

    “Mr. President-elect has a great task of taking away from the streets, millions of our unemployed youths. Jobs need to be created on a daily basis for young people. Children of school age must be compelled to go to school. Massive investment in education and vocational training should be prioritised.”

  • Military recounts troop’s success in Adamawa

    Military recounts troop’s success in Adamawa

    Major General Fatai Alli, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, on Tuesday reiterated the successes recorded by troops in the fight against insurgents in far North eastern state of Adamawa.

    Alli said troops have recaptured almost all towns in Adamawa earlier held by insurgents except Madagali, headquarters of Madagali Local Government.

    The Major General disclosed this when some newsmen were taken on a guided tour of liberated towns in Hong, Mubi and Michika Local Government Areas of the state.

    Maj.-Gen. Chris Ogunkolade, the Director, Defence Information, who led the tour, said it was to give the journalists the opportunity to see the situation on ground.

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), some of the recaptured towns include Hong, Kaala, Makera, Mararraba Mubi, Maiha, Mubi North, Mubi South, Uba, Kudzum, Bazza, Michika and Shuwa.

    The GOC said operations to recapture Madagali were ongoing, and vowed that all territories held by the terrorists would be liberated soon.

    Alli attributed the successes recorded by troops in the war against the insurgents to recent acquisition of weapons, better coordination, motivation and training of personnel.

    “Boko Haram has been substantially degraded, the flow of arms and ammunition to them has reduced drastically, their financial support has been blocked by financial measures adopted by the international community,” he said.

    Similarly, Brig-Gen Victor Ezeugwu, the Commanding Officer, 28 Task Force Brigade, Hong, described the recapture of Mararraba and Mubi as a ‘watershed’ in the fight against Boko Haram in Adamawa.

    Ezeugwu further added that the town was a strategic supply route for the insurgents.

    He said the brigade had also captured over 100 insurgents and handed them over to relevant security agencies for further investigation.

    Among the three towns reportedly visited, Michika was the most hit by the terrorists, as most structures in the town had been destroyed.

    Some of the structures destroyed included the Divisional Police Office, Local Government secretariat, Emir’s palace, Mosques, Churches, banks, market and the general hospital.

    It was reliably gathered that the insurgents destroyed the structures while fleeing the onslaught by the military to recapture the town.

    It was also reported that residents of the affected areas had not returned as at the time of the visit.

    Meanwhile, the Emir of Mubi, Alhaji Abubakar Ahmadu, has restated his call on his subjects to return, saying that the area had been secured by the military.

    Ahmadu told the visiting journalists that at his palace that it was important for the residents to return so as to help in the rebuilding process.

    “I will plead with the people of Mubi to come home so that we develop Mubi.

    “Mubi is now in peace, so everybody should come; I have come back to Mubi, I am not going anywhere except on official assignment,” he said.

  • Insurgency: HIV/AIDS Victims displaced in Adamawa

    Insurgency: HIV/AIDS Victims displaced in Adamawa

    The Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Agency for the Control of Aids (ADSACA), Dr. Stephen John, has on Monday expressed concern over the adverse effect of the current insurgency on the fight against HIV/AIDs in the state.

    Speaking in Yola with The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview, John said that the insurgency had set back the gains recorded in the fight against the disease.

    He said that before the displacement of people due to the insurgency, the agency had succeeded in reducing the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the state from 6 per cent to 1.9 per cent.

    “We have a situation where people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS from across the state, neighbouring states and even countries like Central Africa Republic flooding Adamawa because of insurgency and unrest.

    “We have it on record that over 6, 000 people living with HIV/AIDS that were on treatment in Hong, Mubi, Maiha, Gombi, Michika and Madagali Local Government Areas were displaced due to the destruction caused by the insurgents.

    “This is a huge problem and a big risk when you have this type of scenario,” John said.

    The executive secretary explained that apart from destruction and looting of HIV/AIDS equipments at the affected areas, records of patients were also destroyed by the insurgents.

    He said ADSACA in collaboration with a donor organization, FHI 360 and the state Primary Healthcare Agency were tracking displaced patients in camps and other places, in order to link them up with treatment.

    On challenges of funding, the executive secretary said that the agency had forwarded a memo to the state governor to settle unpaid counterpart contribution to the World Bank, which accumulated since 2011.

    He therefore explained that the failure to pay the counterpart fund had slowed down the rate of implementation of HIV/AIDS programme in the state.

  • Insurgency shame

    The plangent vociferation of the Northeasterner torments my soul.

    My sleep has taken flight for the anguish of Boko Haram victims.

     

    My nights have been consumed by the distant wailings of orphans living with strange families.

     

    My humanity has been violated by the slaughtered innocence of hapless girls dispersed asunder by brainwashed ragtag terrorists.

     

    My heart bleeds for youths running errands in Sambisa Forest for the abductors of their future.

     

    My days are pensive with unanswered queries about who is in charge in my country.

     

    I have grown weary of fanciful peroration of government officials: ‘we will soon end insurgency’.

     

    The taste of lies must be sweet in the ears of the conscienceless.

     

    Who is enjoying the perfidious oration of the godless politician dancing Azonto and shedding crocodile tears on the graves of his people?

  • UNHCR recounts cost of insurgency in West-Africa

    Mr. Adrian Edwards of the United Nations High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) has said violence was spilling over to countries neighbouring Nigeria noting that UNHCR calls for urgent humanitarian access to the displaced.

    Edward observed at a United Nation press briefing in Geneva that the situation was becoming increasingly terrifying for refugees, locals and aid workers.

    According to him, the call from UNHCR becomes an urgent humanitarian access to refugees and internally displaced people in Niger, Cameroon and Chad in order to provide much-needed emergency assistance.

    It was recalled that fighting recently broken out in Niger in the town of Bosso near Lake Chad in the southern region of Diffa, between the Niger national armed forces and insurgents from Nigeria.

    That had been followed by  a series of attacks in Diffa town against civilians, including suicide bombers.

    Diffa, whose population is about 50,000, is currently witnessing a westward movement of the large parts of its population thus becoming virtually empty.

    In all, more than 100,000 people had fled north-eastern Nigeria into Niger, both Nigeria refugees and Niger returnees, since the state of emergency had been declared in three Nigerian States in May 2013.

    Initially, the refugees and returnees had lived among the host population, but their growing numbers required establishing two camps, located in safer areas away from the border with Nigeria.

    Similarly, the situation is as worrying in Cameroon with reports of killings, abductions and brutal violence in the country’s far North region near the border with Nigeria.

    Since the beginning of the year, over 9,000 Nigerian refugees had fled into Cameroon and were moved to the camp where they receive emergency assistance.

    UNHCR therefore recounts that it had registered over 40, 000 Nigerian refugees in the far North to date, and 32,000 of them had moved to Minawao.

    The agency stated that tens of thousands of local residents were also in the same situation while the humanitarian groups continue working with the authorities to help them.

    In Chad, some 3,000 Nigerian refugees had been registered as of the end of 2014 while a further 15,000 had fled into Chad since then and the attacks on military installations and civilian populations in and around the north-east Nigerian town of Bagakawa.

    Most recently, the UNHCR received a disturbing report concerning the attack on the village in Chad called Ngouboua located on the shore of Lake Chad.

    In total, the vioalence in north-eastern Nigeria had caused more than 157,000 people to flee into Niger (100,000), Cameroon (40,000) and Chad (17,000) with a further estimated one million people being internally displaced within Nigeria.

    Speaking about the security situation for aid workers, Mr. Edwards assured that the foremost concern was the security of refugees and the internally displaced persons just as the safety of humanitarian workers mattered.

    He maintained that the precarious situation had clear repercussions on the conditions of work of aid and humanitarian workers while noting that basic safety for staff was necessary if they were to do their works.

    “UNHCR did not have information on the financial resources of Boko Haram, and what UN plans were to stop the group,” he summed.

  • ‘I conducted Yobe LG elections in spite of insurgency’

    ‘I conducted Yobe LG elections in spite of insurgency’

    In this exclusive interview with the Chairman of Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission (YSIEC), Engr. Mohammed Jauro Abdu, the YSIEC boss explained to Duku Joel in Damaturu how he was able to surmount the challenges and went ahead to conduct the local government elections

    Considering that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recently shifted a national election because of  the current security situation in the North-East zone of the country, may you explain how you managed to conduct the recent elections you conducted in Yobe State despite the same security concerns in the state?

    As you are aware, the name is called the State Independent Electoral Commission; to be fair to the state, the commission does everything as the name implies independently. Since we have been conducting elections, we never had a situation where somebody will call and say we are not ready for the election. We sit down and plan and determine when our elections will take place after having series of meetings with the stakeholders, including the security agencies.

    The last election we held was really hectic but we took the bull by the horn as it was the time for us to have an election as the constitution stipulates. As for the issue of Jega, I don’t know how independent he is. If the name of the commission stands, I cannot see why Jega should postpone an election because of the North-East, which comprises of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa. These are only three states out of the 36 states of the federation. Besides, I don’t see how Boko Haram would be everywhere when the election is taking place. So, the real reason for the postponement of the election is best known to him and the people behind it.

    Can you give us a more detailed account of the Yobe Local Government Election so that Jega and the service chiefs will learn from your experience?

    It is ridiculous for the service chiefs to come out and say they cannot defend the people during election. Like I said earlier, Boko Haram cannot be everywhere during election. It is not possible for Boko Haram to be at all the polling units in the country or in the North-East so as to warrant postponement of a national election. We have hundreds of thousands of polling units in the country and Boko Haram cannot be everywhere in these places. I was expecting the service chiefs to say that we could have an election and exclude the volatile places and after a week or two, deploy security and resources to the troubled states. I think that could have been a fair deal instead of scuttling the whole national election. As far as I am concerned, something went wrong somewhere.

    In the case of the Yobe local government election,I was able to conduct it in spite of the insurgency. Even though I had some problems with few security agents, I told them, look, I am not going to go back. If you look at how much money we expended; these are tax payers’ money and we are supposed to account of such monies. There is no way I will come out and tell the general public that the election is postponed until further notice. I can’t do that. I didn’t do it and I will not do it. We went ahead and the election took place. There was no gunshot from anywhere not to talk of any shouting from any angle.

    We recall that the PDP in the state also raised concerns over the elections and did not participate in them

    The PDP then were not even stakeholders in the Yobe elections. They refused to join the election. When you are not part of something, you don’t have any cause for alarm. It is when you join that you become a stakeholder and play an important role but you refuse to join and you claimed that election should not hold. I sat down with all political parties and took a decision and we agreed that we will hold an election this day and we had it. If PDP is not ready to conduct an election, that is entirely their own business.

    Between the PVC distribution and security, which point do you think is stronger for the election to be postponed?

    There is no strong point for Jega to take that decision. All over the world, if you have a population of 200m people, do you expect everybody to cast his votes? Again, are the 200 million people all eligible voters? The answer is no!  In the case of Nigeria, Jega says we have about 75 million people that registered. Out of those 75 million people, some are even double registration and others have died. So, a situation where you have 35 to 40 million people who have collected their PVCs will be fantastic. In 2011, Jonathan won the election with around 22 million votes. Where are the rest of the millions? Buhari had about 11million votes or so. All in all, we had less than 40 million people that cast their votes in the last election.  In any given situation where you have 40 to 45 million and somebody wins with 18 or 19 million and the rest of the votes go to other political parties that is fair to me. You don’t have to have the 75 million that is claimed by INEC to win an election.

    But Jega, it seems is under pressure

    I will maintain my stand and go ahead with the election or else resign my appointment. But as far as he is concerned, to resign his appointment is not going to help the situation. We have to be fair to Jega no matter what offences he may have committed. Somebody is saying he will not defend the voters. I went through that kind of threat when I was told that I will be held responsible if anything happens to anybody in the state during the last election I conducted. I knew that but I maintained my ground. While I was receiving threats that elections shouldn’t hold, there was a political party that came and did a rally in the state and so I also went ahead to do my election and thank God it was successful. Initially, we postponed the elections because of logistics. My ballot papers were not ready but when they arrived, I went ahead with my elections despite the threats. Jega was strangled because he was afraid when the service chiefs and the National Security Adviser came out and said they cannot guarantee the lives of the people, so he felt the loss of lives may cause a problem for him perhaps.

    Are you optimistic about the new date?

    I will not answer that question directly because I am not the one conducting the election but I hope and only hope that the new date will be upheld. If I am the one conducting it, I will tell you it’s going to take place. If it will not take place then I will vacate the seat honorably and that will tell the whole world that Nigeria is not practicing democracy.

    Is that your advice to Jega?

    I will not advice Jega because he is a man of himself and he can decide for himself. He knows what is best for him.

  • Ahmed: help in fight against insurgency

    Ahmed: help in fight against insurgency

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has urged retired military men to join hands with other security agents to tackle the security challenges.

    The governor spoke yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital, when the leadership of Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers (RANAO) visited him.

    He noted that the nation could still tap from the wealth of experience of the retired officers.

    Ahmed urged RANAO’s leadership and members to come up with strategies on how the country could overcome the prevailing security challenges.

    He said: “As senior citizens with very rich wealth of experience in military tactics and strategies, members of RANAO have important roles to play in driving good governance in the country.”

    RANAO’s Chairman Captain Ibrahim Ahmed (rtd) said his members were ready to work for the security of life and property in the state.