A team of experts from the Lake Chad Basin Commission under the auspices of the African Union (AU) yesterday paid a visit to the Headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maimalari cantonment, Maiduguri.
The team, which was led by Dr Eleanor Nwadinobi, a gender advisor, was constituted by AU in conjunction with the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) to proffer stabilisation and revitalisation strategies for theLake Chad Basin. D e p u t y Director, Public Relations, Theatre Command Operation Lafi ya Dole, Col Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement issued yesterday, said the team was mandated to research and work out strategies in the areas of humanitarian, socio-economic, educational, governance, gender as well as prevention and countering of violent extremism to revitalise and stabilise the Lake Chad Basin. Eleanor revealed that, in carrying out its mandate, it was expedient for the team to visit the Lake Chad Basin Commission m e m b e r states.
She lauded the Theatre Command and troops of Operation Lafi ya Dole forthe successes so far recorded in the counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations against the Boko Haram terrorists. Responding, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafi ya Dole, Maj. Gen. Rogers Nicholas, told the team of experts that the security situationin the North east theatre was generally calm as the Boko Haram insurgents had been degraded. He, however, added that the terrorists have resorted to callously carryingout isolated suicide bombing and IED attacks on vulnerable and soft targets.
While fielding questions from members of the team, the Theatre Commander lamented that a wrong narrative about the ongoing war on terror was undermining the operation and misrepresenting it in thepublic domain. He stated that the Nigerian state is at war and must be recognised as such to enable the effective mobilisation of all instruments of national power to prosecute the war.
