Governors from the North-east of the country yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to equip the police to bridge the manpower gap in the military as a way of routing insurgents who are waging acute war against the region.
The insurgency, the governors pointed out, has decimated the region’s economy.
The governors, during a meeting with the president at the State House, Abuja, also raised the alarm at the rate at which the insurgents are recruiting more members into the sect.
At the meeting, Buhari, again, thumbed down the army on its performance in combating terrorism, saying intelligence reports at his disposal has indicated that the army ought to do better in fighting the insurgency.
Buhari also said his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), magnanimously lost some states to the opposition during the last general election because it chose to be humane and refrained from using the security forces at its disposal to overrun the opposition.
At the meeting attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, service chiefs and heads of other security agencies, the governors made ‘save our souls’ call on the president over the effects of terrorism plaguing the region.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Borno State Governor and Chairman of North-east Governors’ Forum, Prof. Babagana Zulum, said the meeting was a follow-up to the meeting of North-east governors on Saturday where they discussed challenges confronting the region.
He listed the challenges to include insecurity, economic crisis exemplified by hunger, infrastructure decay and what he described as rock projects.
“But most importantly, there is a war against the economy in the region and I think that is why we are here,” he stated.
Zulum said they told the president that he needed to get to the root of the insurgency ravaging the region, which has worsened the living conditions of the people.
According to him, people of the zone can no longer access their farmlands because of insecurity.
He said residents needed to be resettled in their original places of abode so that they could start a new phase of life.
He said, insurgents exploit such challenges confronting residents to recruit victims into their terrorist group, adding that creating an enabling environment for people to operate has consequently become compelling.
He said they advocated at the meeting, the need to empower the police in the region and provide them with sophisticated equipment, including armoured personnel carriers, to bridge the loopholes in the military.
He said: “We told Mr. President that there is the need for the federal government to address the causes of the insurgency, which are not limited to the endemic poverty, hunger, among others.
“One of the root causes is that of access to farmlands. People need to go back to their farmlands. People need to be resettled in their original homes so that they can restart their means of livelihood.
“This is one of the reasons, the insurgents are recruiting more into the sect. Therefore, creating an enabling environment that will enable the people to go about their normal duties will no doubt reduce the cases of insurgency.
“We also recommended that police should be empowered, to be provided with certain state of the art equipment, armoured personnel carriers and so on with a view to bridging the manpower gap that we are having in the Nigerian military.”
On the criticism that trailed his accusations against the military after his convoy was attacked on his way to Baga in his state recently, Zulum said meetings had been held after the attack.
He said collaboration among all tiers of government was necessary to tame insecurity.
He said: “We have had a series of consultations after the attack and I think security is not only about the federal government.
“There is the need for the federal, state and local governments to come together with a view to proffering solutions that will end this crisis in the region.
“So, I think the government is taking a bold step with a view to ensuring a speedy resolution of some of the gray areas that we have in the region.”
Source: THISDAY
