Buhari to Focus on War Against Boko Haram
by ROTIMI FADEYI AND UBONG UKPONG
Nigerian National Mirror
Jun 2, 2015
…visits Chad, Niger; meets Service Chiefs
. Military high command unhappy with relocation directive
President Muhammadu Buhari will tomorrow visit Chad and Niger, his first foreign trip since taking office, for talks on Boko Haram insurgency.
This was disclosed yesterday by the President’s Senior Special Assistant, SSA, Media, Mallam Garba Shehu.
He said the two-day trip would focus on “matters of security,” with the cooperation of Niger, Chad and Cameroon seen as crucial to end the Boko Haram uprising, which has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 2009.
“The President has Niger and Chad ahead of him. This will be his first trip outside the country in obvious matters of security,” Shehu said. Buhari was sworn in last Friday and vowed in his inaugural speech to crush the insurgent group he described as “mindless” and “godless.”
But Boko Haram attacked some 12 hours after the President took the oath of office, hitting homes in Maiduguri, Borno State, with rocket-propelled grenades overnight on Saturday. Later, a suicide attack at a mosque in the city killed at least 26 people.
The terrorists also raided two towns in Yobe State on Sunday, torching public buildings and looting food and fuel stores. Niger shares a border with both Borno and Yobe states, while Chad borders just Borno in Nigeria’s extreme North East.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration had long complained that Nigeria’s neighbours were not doing enough to contain Boko Haram as they fled military pursuit by crossing porous borders.
A four-nation offensive that also includes Cameroon has won significant victories since February but there are fears of Boko Haram regrouping, especially in remote border areas.
Buhari said little regarding his specific plans for regional security cooperation other than to thank the three nations for their efforts to date. Chadian President Idris Derby has publicly mocked Nigeria’s counter-insurgency efforts under Jonathan and called for greater cooperation.
Buhari, a former army general who headed a military regime in the 1980s, is seen by most observers as a more robust commanderin- chief than Jonathan.
In a related development, the President was yesterday said to have scheduled a meeting with service chiefs behind closed doors, as the new Commander-In-Chief, but top military sources disclosed that they might likely be asked to go or stay and obey the presidential directive to relocate their Command and Control Centre to Maiduguri. This is coming as sources said the military was not happy with the relocation directive.
It was expected that the President would appoint their replacements last Friday shortly after the inauguration but for strategic security reasons, this did not happen. But this meeting, it was learnt, may be the last they would have with him.
According to an informed military source, the plan of President Buhari to relocate the Command and Control Centre to Maiduguri with a view to ending the menace of terrorism did not receive the support of the military high command.
In his inaugural speech, Buhari argued that victory over Boko Haram would remain a mirage unless the service chiefs are relocated to the theatre of operation.
“The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces but victory cannot be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja.
“The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.
This government will do all it can to rescue them alive,” the President had said. Although, he was applauded over the speech, military sources who spoke with some journalists yesterday in Abuja were not happy with the directive which they saw as an “attempt to frustrate, humiliate our chiefs before sacking them.”
Nigerian National Mirror
Jun 2, 2015
…visits Chad, Niger; meets Service Chiefs
. Military high command unhappy with relocation directive
President Muhammadu Buhari will tomorrow visit Chad and Niger, his first foreign trip since taking office, for talks on Boko Haram insurgency.
This was disclosed yesterday by the President’s Senior Special Assistant, SSA, Media, Mallam Garba Shehu.
He said the two-day trip would focus on “matters of security,” with the cooperation of Niger, Chad and Cameroon seen as crucial to end the Boko Haram uprising, which has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 2009.
“The President has Niger and Chad ahead of him. This will be his first trip outside the country in obvious matters of security,” Shehu said. Buhari was sworn in last Friday and vowed in his inaugural speech to crush the insurgent group he described as “mindless” and “godless.”
But Boko Haram attacked some 12 hours after the President took the oath of office, hitting homes in Maiduguri, Borno State, with rocket-propelled grenades overnight on Saturday. Later, a suicide attack at a mosque in the city killed at least 26 people.
The terrorists also raided two towns in Yobe State on Sunday, torching public buildings and looting food and fuel stores. Niger shares a border with both Borno and Yobe states, while Chad borders just Borno in Nigeria’s extreme North East.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration had long complained that Nigeria’s neighbours were not doing enough to contain Boko Haram as they fled military pursuit by crossing porous borders.
A four-nation offensive that also includes Cameroon has won significant victories since February but there are fears of Boko Haram regrouping, especially in remote border areas.
Buhari said little regarding his specific plans for regional security cooperation other than to thank the three nations for their efforts to date. Chadian President Idris Derby has publicly mocked Nigeria’s counter-insurgency efforts under Jonathan and called for greater cooperation.
Buhari, a former army general who headed a military regime in the 1980s, is seen by most observers as a more robust commanderin- chief than Jonathan.
In a related development, the President was yesterday said to have scheduled a meeting with service chiefs behind closed doors, as the new Commander-In-Chief, but top military sources disclosed that they might likely be asked to go or stay and obey the presidential directive to relocate their Command and Control Centre to Maiduguri. This is coming as sources said the military was not happy with the relocation directive.
It was expected that the President would appoint their replacements last Friday shortly after the inauguration but for strategic security reasons, this did not happen. But this meeting, it was learnt, may be the last they would have with him.
According to an informed military source, the plan of President Buhari to relocate the Command and Control Centre to Maiduguri with a view to ending the menace of terrorism did not receive the support of the military high command.
In his inaugural speech, Buhari argued that victory over Boko Haram would remain a mirage unless the service chiefs are relocated to the theatre of operation.
“The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces but victory cannot be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja.
“The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.
This government will do all it can to rescue them alive,” the President had said. Although, he was applauded over the speech, military sources who spoke with some journalists yesterday in Abuja were not happy with the directive which they saw as an “attempt to frustrate, humiliate our chiefs before sacking them.”
No comments:
Post a Comment