Borno State government has denied reports that Boko Haram is still in control of local governments in the state.
Governor Kashim Shettima, who reacted yesterday to last weekend’s claims of Senator Bashir Garbai that the insurgents were still in control of more than half of the state, told reporters that the reality on ground did not portray the true words of the lawmaker.
He said: ”To me, it is unbelievable that such a statement could have emanated from Senator Garbai. I can’t believe he said that because as a senator, he has access to the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the IGP and the Presidency and he is not the type that even speaks to the media easily. This is why I am at a loss.
“I have not got in touch with him yet to get his side, to hear from him what he actually said. But for now, I suspect he must have been misquoted or if he wasn’t misquoted, he must have spoken based on emotional outburst and not anchored on reality.
“We cannot mix two things. There is a difference between Boko Haram insurgents seizing and occupying territories and Boko Haram attacking communities, these are two different things. In the past, Boko Haram used to come in commando style to attack, seize, occupy communities and hold residents hostage and administer territories, that is occupation. We no longer have that in Borno.
“None of the 27 local governments is occupied by Boko Haram. They have been liberated. What we have are challenges still being posed by Boko Haram to show their presence and these attacks are done from the position of weakness and not strength.
“In the past, they moved with audacity and arrogance, now they move with fear just as armed robbers do in other parts of Nigeria. Our military personnel have done well under the Buhari administration and I think we can only hail them and not vilify them.
“Buhari has shown uncommon and absolute commitment to ending this insurgency. Two indigenes of Borno, the Chief of Army Staff and the National Security Adviser, are leading this fight and this goes to show the sincerity of the President. It was under Buhari that Bama, Mafa, Gwoza, Dikwa, Ngala and a host of others were liberated.
”As we speak, we are rebuilding communities, we couldn’t have started if the situation wasn’t different from what Buhari inherited from the PDP-led Presidency. Since the end of slavery and colonialism, no evil had befallen the black man worse than the emergence of the PDP as the ruling party in Nigeria and we can confirm this from the manner the PDP handled funds meant for procurement of arms to equip the military and protect our citizens in the Northeast.
“Buhari cannot clean up the PDP mess in seven months; it has to be patient driven on our part as citizens. Buhari has shown us love and empathy. Since he came, virtually every minister has come to Borno with an agenda to heal our wounds; we can only support the President.
“Then, leadership goes beyond talking without exhausting options, especially when dealing with an administration that is accessible to you to seek whatever clarifications you may need. There are privileges you enjoy that deny you certain rights and there are certain rights that deny you certain privileges.’’
“As a lawmaker, Senator Garbai has access to the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the IGP and even the Presidency; all these accesses are privileges one can use to seek clarification. The Senator is not the type that even speaks to the media easily, so this is why I am still wondering what has been credited to him. In the past we had a Presidency that shut its door to us.
“As a governor I was even listened to as it should have been and I have complete access to President Buhari, if there are issues I discuss directly with the President and I can assure you that with Buhari there is no deception, the Buhari I have been relating with would have been the first to open up if Boko Haram was still occupying territories in Borno, he is sincere and accountable to Nigerians.
“As the chief security officer of Borno State, I am telling you authoritatively that our military is in full charge. But as I said, there are challenges and this is to be expected when dealing with insurgency. In 2008, less than 10 terrorists held Mumbai, a city of 20 million people for four days. Two terrorists can chase a community. The Boko Haram insurgents are now in bits but they attack small communities to cause havoc and this is taken very seriously. They are actually running away from their hideouts where they are facing the fire of the military. We shouldn’t glorify them by giving them oxygen, which is publicity. Publicity is the oxygen of terrorists, we must strive to deny them that so that collectively, we shall celebrate in the soonest of time.”
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