New Security Chiefs: Northeast Now In Safe Hands – Shettima
BEVERLY HILLS, July 14, (THEWILL) – The Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, Tuesday, hailed the appointment of two indigenes of the state as security chiefs, saying the Northeast region is now in safe and efficient hands.
Maintaining that “the fight to overcome insurgents is now or never,” Shettima described the appointment of retired Major General Babagana Monguno and Major General Tukur Buratai as National Security Adviser and Chief of Army Staff respectively by President Muhammadu Buhari as one of the happiest moments in his lifetime.
Shettima stated this when he received in his office in Maiduguri, the state capital, members of the Nigerian Foundation for the Support of Victims of Terrorism (NFSVT) chaired by Lt. General T.Y Danjuma (rtd) who paid him a courtesy call.
Welcoming the delegation at the Government House Maiduguri, Shettima warned the members of the Foundation not to play to the gallery but to bring out solution to the millions of Borno people displaced Boko Haram.
Hailing the appointment of the two retired Generals as Service Chiefs, Shettima described it “as a classic case of putting square pegs in square holes because both men have been given the mandate of liberating their state which is at the centre of Boko Haram activities while they possess ancestral knowledge of the Borno terrain in addition to being direct victims of insurgency attacks with their relatives killed, their residences destroyed and their towns raided.”
Expressing his joy at the development, the governor said: “Yesterday was the happiest moment of my life. President Muhammadu Buhari made a strong statement by his decision to appoint two highly competent sons of Borno to the offices of the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Army Staff. I think his strategy was to get people with ancestral knowledge of the Borno terrain. Major General Tukur Buratai is even a direct victim of Boko Haram attacks.
“He lost family members when his residence was attacked earlier this year in Buratai, a town in Biu local government area. Monguno was destroyed and once occupied by Boko Haram and that is where the new NSA, Retired Major General Babagana Monguno, hails from.
” In fact, a key family member of General Monguno is still being held captive by Boko Haram insurgents. These two Generals are from Borno, they know exactly where it pinches and most importantly, they understand the terrain and can easily connect with communities to get local support.
“Added to them is also the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who hails from Bauchi also in the Northeast. AVM Abubakar has spent many of his formative years in the military here in Borno State.
“He has spent over 10 years in Borno, he knows the terrain very well also and connect with the people. I think for us, it is now or never because the President has generously put sons of Borno and the Northeast to lead the battle for the freedom of Borno, the Northeast and rest of Nigeria, from the murderous threats of insurgents. Insha Allah, with the combined efforts of other competent service chiefs and all Nigerians, the war on terror will soon be won by the supremacy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Shettima however called on all Nigerians to support President Buhari whom, he said, has left no one in doubt about his persistent commitment to ending the Boko Haram insurgency .
Speaking earlier during the visit, the Executive Director of the NFSVT, Prof. Sunday A. Ochoche, explained that the focus of the Foundation is on “economic empowerment of women and the education of children ” by engaging all the various communities affected by Boko Haram insurgency in Borno and the entire North East region .
“We will be here in Borno State and other states affected by insurgency in the medium and long-run in rebuilding all the
destroyed towns and villages, so that the over two million displaced persons return to their respective communities,” he said, adding “But the committee's main focus is on economic empowerment of women and the education of children, who had never been in schools since May 16, 2014.”
Ochoche, who said that “The number of children; out of schools and colleges, since the commencement of
insurgency in Borno State is in tens of thousands of displaced or sent out of schools,” explained that the empowerment of women will also make them productive instead of remaining in resettlement camps in Maiduguri metropolis and Biu.
He lamented that though the committee was mandated to raise more funds into Victims Support Fund (VSF), the pledges of N50 billion were never fulfilled as only about 40 per cent of the total VSF pledges amounting to about N20billion was redeemed.