Borno Blames Poor Implementation of Security Strategy for Insurgents Occupation of Villages
The Borno State Government has alleged that poor security strategy implementation by the Nigerian Army was responsible for insurgents’ occupation of villages in the state.
Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum who stated this yesterday, said that in his state in 2013, the Nigerian Army decided to close all villages and districts that they were going to carry out mop operations on the insurgents at the shores of lake Chad.
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“Most of the Local Governments were deserted by the people. After that, the insurgents now took advantage of the absence of the human population to occupy all the territories. Right now in Borno State, ISWAP is collecting ransom and you have to pay them before you pass in some areas. Between 2011 and 2015, Boko Haram has destroyed 5,000 classrooms, destroyed 800 municipal villages . We 50,000 widows and 700,000 IDPs and 200,000 of the IDPs are agile young population .
“These are some of the abnormalies we are trying to correct today. Some people think I have come to criticize the Nigerian Army, I’m not. We are talking about implementation strategies. But they (Army) are learning now but still, we have to be very careful. Yes, the army is doing their best but the problem in Nigeria is that when we hear that something is getting better, we relax. In 2017, we almost celebrated the defeat of Boko Haram but today, ISWAP is stronger and more sophisticated”, he revealed
Zulum spoke while delivering a lecture at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) on ‘Ungoverned Spaces and Insecurity in the Sahelian region: Implication for Nigeria’s Domestic Peace and Security.”
He also identified corruption and tribalism as some of the major problems bedeviling Nigeria, warning that unless the people were able to put the right leadership in place, the problems of the country will remain. He disagreed with the call for the establishment of the state police.
