Book Haram attacking model has changed - says Aliyu

Nigeria's Northern Governor’s Forum (NGF) on Monday said the incessant attacks by the Boko Haram sect has gone beyond the traditional pattern of their attacks.

The Chairman of the forum, Babangida Aliyu of Niger, expressed the concern when he spoke with newsmen on the agenda of the one-day general meeting held in North central of Kaduna.

“The situation has gone beyond the normal pattern that we gave to Boko Haram and I think we need to really appreciate the gravity of the situation,” he stressed.

Aliyu decried the spate of attacks in the northern region, particularly in Borno and other north eastern states, stressing the need for the federal government to take measures to curtail it.

“But it appears that we are becoming a little callous that we don’t seem to care much about what is happening. We must continue to encourage the federal government to really do what it is supposed to do.

“He stressed the need for the region to create a position or engender the political will that would address these issues and others that affect the north.

“And we must take a position so that we create, if it is lack of political will on our part, we must create that political will so that from our own political will it, it transcends to the federal government and to the people of Nigeria.”

According to him, the forum will also discuss the coordination and regulation of the operation of cattle dealers and traders, abattoir operation, agriculture and the activities of nomadic herdsmen.

The forum would also discuss the NNDC’s five-year development plans, its investment in oil and gas, and the transformation of the Almajiri system of education that would integrate the students into the educational system.

The governors present at the occasion included those of Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Benue and Zamfara, while the deputy governors of Jigawa, Kogi, Gombe and Katsina represented their bosses.