• David Mark expresses fear over bombings
Former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, has expressed confidence in the ability of the military to defeat Boko Haram, if well armed.
Babangida, in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, monitored in Kaduna yesterday, said the military was well trained to defeat the insurgents and would do so if given all the resources needed to achieve the task Babangida spoke against the backdrop of doubts expressed by many stakeholders over the military’s ability to defeat terror in view of the resurgence in terror attacks, especially in some northern cities that had witnessed lull in the last six months.There has been an upsurge in terror attacks by Boko Haram, especially in the wake of the ceasefire declared by the Federal Government with the insurgents to allow for negotiations allegedly brokered by Chad.
Despite the negotiations, which Boko Haram self-styled leader, Abubakar Shekau, has repudiated, the insurgents have attacked more towns and seized swathes of territory in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.
Besides, the Federal Government’s efforts to effectively degrade and destroy Boko Haram have been hobbled by its inability to procure arms and ammunition owing to opposition by the United States, which has refused to sell arms to Nigeria on the excuse of human rights abuses allegedly committed by soldiers involved in the insurgency war. But Babangida warned against the cynicism over the combat readiness of the military, saying that it will be wrong to impute that the Boko Haram insurgents have overwhelmed the armed forces.
He spoke just as Senate President David Mark also expressed concern about the rising bombings carried out by Boko Haram. The former military ruler also clarified the statement that Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II made, asking Nigerians to defend themselves because the security agencies have failed to protect them.
“There are many people who misunderstood the call that His Royal Highness made. It is a religious obligation to protect your-self against people who want to cheat you.
Like the emir said, it is religious duty to protect yourself, your family and your wealth,” he added. Babangida, however, said people should not take the law into their hands but they should organise themselves on how best to secure their communities. He cited the example of how the people of Azare in Bauchi State repelled the insurgents on several occasions.
The former president debunked the insinuation that former heads of state of northern extraction have refused to proffer solutions to how to end the insurgency to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Babangida recalled that he faced several security challenges when he was in power, adding that every government should figure out how best to deal with its peculiar challenges.
He reiterated that the lasting solution to the insurgency is for the people and government to unite in the war against Boko Haram. Also speaking on the insurgency yesterday, Mark expressed apprehension over the spates of bombings and attacks by Boko Haram.
Mark, while commenting on a motion by Senator Ahmed Lawan, representing Yobe North, over the display of professionalism by the military against Boko Haram’s bid to capture the Yobe State Government House, said insurgency had taken a frightening dimension in the country. “Let me just tell you why I allowed the motion; it is because insurgents are attacking left, right, front and back in the North- East.
But that of yesterday (Monday) was because they were able to get to the government house, which gave it a new dimension; it has nothing to do with the state of emergency.
“I allowed it because like I said, the dimension that it took yesterday was really frightening. I was in touch with the governor for most of the time and we were all very worried and because of the magnitude of what had happened in the last few days, bomb blasts in Kano, the attack in Borno, the bomb blast in Borno and the incident that took place in Damaturu,” he stated. Earlier, Lawan had commended the soldiers for their impressive performance, saying that their success was possible because they were motivated to do so.
He also added that the military was able to defeat the insurgents that attempted to capture Damaturu without the emergency rule in place. According to him, the success of the military operations against the insurgents was largely dependent on the determination of the military and not the extension of emergency rule as recently proposed by the president.
Mark, at this point, immediately cautioned the senator to limit his comments to the Damaturu attacks, without bringing in the issue of emergency rule to avoid provoking controversy amongst senators.
Also, Senator Abdulkadir Jajere, representing Yobe South, expressed confidence in the ability of the military to defeat the insurgents and restore peace to the North-East. He said that what the military needed was full support of the people and government.
Source: New Telegraph
Former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, has expressed confidence in the ability of the military to defeat Boko Haram, if well armed.
Babangida, in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, monitored in Kaduna yesterday, said the military was well trained to defeat the insurgents and would do so if given all the resources needed to achieve the task Babangida spoke against the backdrop of doubts expressed by many stakeholders over the military’s ability to defeat terror in view of the resurgence in terror attacks, especially in some northern cities that had witnessed lull in the last six months.There has been an upsurge in terror attacks by Boko Haram, especially in the wake of the ceasefire declared by the Federal Government with the insurgents to allow for negotiations allegedly brokered by Chad.
Despite the negotiations, which Boko Haram self-styled leader, Abubakar Shekau, has repudiated, the insurgents have attacked more towns and seized swathes of territory in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.
Besides, the Federal Government’s efforts to effectively degrade and destroy Boko Haram have been hobbled by its inability to procure arms and ammunition owing to opposition by the United States, which has refused to sell arms to Nigeria on the excuse of human rights abuses allegedly committed by soldiers involved in the insurgency war. But Babangida warned against the cynicism over the combat readiness of the military, saying that it will be wrong to impute that the Boko Haram insurgents have overwhelmed the armed forces.
He spoke just as Senate President David Mark also expressed concern about the rising bombings carried out by Boko Haram. The former military ruler also clarified the statement that Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II made, asking Nigerians to defend themselves because the security agencies have failed to protect them.
“There are many people who misunderstood the call that His Royal Highness made. It is a religious obligation to protect your-self against people who want to cheat you.
Like the emir said, it is religious duty to protect yourself, your family and your wealth,” he added. Babangida, however, said people should not take the law into their hands but they should organise themselves on how best to secure their communities. He cited the example of how the people of Azare in Bauchi State repelled the insurgents on several occasions.
The former president debunked the insinuation that former heads of state of northern extraction have refused to proffer solutions to how to end the insurgency to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Babangida recalled that he faced several security challenges when he was in power, adding that every government should figure out how best to deal with its peculiar challenges.
He reiterated that the lasting solution to the insurgency is for the people and government to unite in the war against Boko Haram. Also speaking on the insurgency yesterday, Mark expressed apprehension over the spates of bombings and attacks by Boko Haram.
Mark, while commenting on a motion by Senator Ahmed Lawan, representing Yobe North, over the display of professionalism by the military against Boko Haram’s bid to capture the Yobe State Government House, said insurgency had taken a frightening dimension in the country. “Let me just tell you why I allowed the motion; it is because insurgents are attacking left, right, front and back in the North- East.
But that of yesterday (Monday) was because they were able to get to the government house, which gave it a new dimension; it has nothing to do with the state of emergency.
“I allowed it because like I said, the dimension that it took yesterday was really frightening. I was in touch with the governor for most of the time and we were all very worried and because of the magnitude of what had happened in the last few days, bomb blasts in Kano, the attack in Borno, the bomb blast in Borno and the incident that took place in Damaturu,” he stated. Earlier, Lawan had commended the soldiers for their impressive performance, saying that their success was possible because they were motivated to do so.
He also added that the military was able to defeat the insurgents that attempted to capture Damaturu without the emergency rule in place. According to him, the success of the military operations against the insurgents was largely dependent on the determination of the military and not the extension of emergency rule as recently proposed by the president.
Mark, at this point, immediately cautioned the senator to limit his comments to the Damaturu attacks, without bringing in the issue of emergency rule to avoid provoking controversy amongst senators.
Also, Senator Abdulkadir Jajere, representing Yobe South, expressed confidence in the ability of the military to defeat the insurgents and restore peace to the North-East. He said that what the military needed was full support of the people and government.
Source: New Telegraph
