The Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, says some individuals, including those within the government and communities who are benefitting financially from the war against Boko Haram and other terrorists, don’t want the war to end.
According to him, these categories of people are those who fuel the fire and help the insurgents make a comeback anytime the security forces are having a upper hand, and it seems the war is about to end.
He said the saboteurs are benefitting financially and otherwise from the over ten-year-old crisis and helping the insurgents to keep fighting despite government efforts to bring the situation under control.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, Governor Zulum noted that as soon as it looked as if the insurgents were being defeated and eliminated by the military, something from nowhere would refuel their fire with reinvigorated spirit and strength to fight again.
He said: “We recorded tremendous progress in the fight against these insurgents in the past few months. But recently, they resurfaced and even invaded some communities through Chad Republic, where they received serious firepower from the Chadian soldiers.
“The firepower from the Chadian soldiers was as a result of their recent attacks that led to the death of some Chadian soldiers. As a result, they found their way to our territory in Borno State, but the Nigerians’ soldiers responded promptly, resulting in the death of so many of them.
“A few days ago, the insurgents invaded the Kukawa community for the purposes of attack, but they were met with stronger firepower from the Nigerian soldiers. Many of them were killed. That was a commendable move. Truly, God has helped us tremendously except for what we are witnessing lately.”
Despite the happenings, Governor Zulum praised the military and other security forces and urged them not to be discouraged as they would surely emerge victorious against Boko Haram and other insurgents.
“I can confirm to you that some people don’t want an end to this crisis, and that’s the reason why we keep recording back and forth success in the fight.
“You can imagine some individuals from the communities providing food and drug supplies to the insurgents in the bushes where they camped. Nevertheless, we would defeat these people and end the war. But doing that requires the cooperation of all citizens, including the community leaders and security agencies.
“We had these challenges of poor cooperation between the security agencies and the communities, but that has been resolved, and we have begun to see the changes in the fight against Boko Haram,” he said.
He also appealed to the federal government to increase security detachments in Borno State so they can sustain the momentum and possibly bring the activities of Boko Haram insurgents to an end as soon as possible.