Press statement from the presidency
President Buhari has sent a powerful delegation to two states, Adamawa
and Borno States to condole with their governments and people over the
increased bombing activity by Boko Haram terrorists, with a strong
appeal to local populations to share in the responsibility for security
in their surroundings.
The President, who spoke through the leader of the delegation, Engineer
Babachir David Lawal, the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation,SGF directed all communities in the country to revert to old
practices by which new arrivals in their neighborhoods were taken note
of by local chiefs and security agencies.
Going down the memory lane, the President recalled that these were
practices that worked well in past in securing neighborhoods and local
communities." The ward head, the village head and the local police knew
every new entrant into the community. They kept tabs on them and
detected traits of criminality before evil-doers get the chance to act
against common interest. We must go back to those rudimentary acts of
local policing," the President reiterated, adding that the job of
securing our life and property is too important to be left to security
officials alone. "We must help them to do their job.The responsibility
of detecting criminals lies with all of us.
In this new phase of the war, all of us are generals, all of us are foot
soldiers, all of us are intelligence officers."
In commiserating with families who lost dear ones and the inpatients in
the hospitals visited by the delegation on his behalf, President Buhari
assured of the full support of the government and the determination of
his administration to end the menace of the Boko Haram terrorists by the
year's end.
In his message at hospitals, emirs' palaces and Government Houses in the
two states as read by the SGF, the President said that "the security
situation in the North East remains a great source of concern for me.
Although there are clear indications that the military is recording
great successes in the theatre of operations, the enemy has been able to
carry out his murderous campaign by attacking soft targets using
Improvised Explosive Devices.
His intention is to create widespread fear amongst the civilian
population since he cannot subdue our armed forces. The sporadic tactics
used by these criminals is a sign that they are under intense pressure
in the forests and in the countryside where they previously enjoyed a
lot of freedom of action.
"The sheer tenacity displayed by our troops in the last three months has
resulted in degrading the capacity of the enemy significantly. I am
confident that the ability of the enemy to attack and seize towns and
villages has been virtually neutralized.
"Having said that, our people cannot continue to be the victims of a
senseless war, living in perpetual fear and denied the right to pursue
their legitimate undertakings in peace.
As a leader, I want to assure our citizens in every part of Nigeria that
the government is doing everything humanly possible to bring to a swift
end, the suffering and losses occasioned by this insurgency. I deeply
sympathize with the families who have lost loved ones.
"As I said a few times in the past, desperate actions such as the
detonation of IEDs will take a longer time to eradicate even as our
optimism continues to grow that Boko Haram as a fighting force will be
crushed by the year’s end. After that, we hope all displaced communities
will be returned to their towns and villages. But even when this is
about to happen, there will still remain vital tests and challenges. We
must work hard to eradicate all forms of extremism. Citizens must join
hands with security forces in the effort to detect unrepentant
terrorists embedded in our neighbourhoods.
We must all be watchful over any suspicious activity and report same to
law enforcement agents for their prompt action," the President stressed.
The members of the government delegation that accompanied the SGF
included the Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Mala Mai Buni, a member of the
House of Representatives, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Munguno, the Senior
Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, a
Permanent Secretary in the office of the SGF Bukar Maina a leading
figure in the APC Alhaji Modi Aliyu Mahmood.
Governors of Adamawa and Borno, Senator Jibrilla Bindow and Bukar
Shettima as well as their leading Chiefs who received the delegations in
their abodes thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for sending the
delegation as well as his dogged efforts to end Boko Haram terrorism and
securing the country.
In his particular remarks, Governor Shettima commended the President for
his interest. He said "before he assumed the leadership of the country,
the state was In a very, very sorry state. The Boko Haram terrorists
had 20 councils under them. Now, all but three have been liberated. Of
the over three million citizens in IDP camps, 85% of them are in Borno
State. We were left to cater for the IDPs. Now we have NEMA taking care
of the camps.
We thank the President for the delegation. We are not used to this. We
were left to our own fate for four years under the previous
administration.
We are absolutely settled that the President is behind us. We are
absolutely settled in the belief he will help us rebuild our
communities. By May 29th next year, every son and daughter of Borno will
be back in their villages. We will continue to ensure community
involvement in securing the environment," the Governor concluded by way
of assurance.
Garba Shehu,
SSA to the President,
Media and Publicity.
