Eleven years after the Boko Haram insurgents started their onslaught in the North-east, the governor of Borno state, Babagana Umara Zulum, has called for adoption of political options to end the crisis.
Zulum in his address at the three-day international conference on “Insurgency and counter-insurgency in Nigeria: critical perspectives on Boko Haram,’’ held in Abuja, said more of non-kinetic strategies must be pursued to end the insurgency.
The conference, which started Tuesday and ends Thursday was jointly organised by the Victims Support Fund, Abuja and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.
The governor, while acknowledging that the north-east had witnessed significant security improvement, said the activities of the insurgents would soon be over.
He said: “There is need to explore political options in finding lasting solutions to the crisis. More of non-kinetic strategies must be pursued.
“The establishment of the North-East Development Commission is a fundamental sustainable development initiative that gives a comprehensive framework for the post-conflict socio-economic recovery, stabilisation and development of the state and sub-region.’’
Also, the governor of Yobe state, Mai Mala Buni, called for a new approach to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency, saying that the current approach, which according to him, was military-centric, had not achieved the desired results.
Buni, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Security Affairs, Brigadier-General Dahiru Abdulsalam (retd) said: “I am also convinced that at the end of conference, new approaches to defeating the Boko Haram insurgency would be recommended for the consideration of the federal government.
“I am saying this because the current approach, which is demonstrably military-centric, did not appear to provide the results we all desire.
“Our people in the North-east often wonder why the Nigerian military that was adjudged to be among the strongest in Africa in finding it hard to defeat a handful of insurgents. Probably the answer lies in the current strategy which needs to be reviewed.’’
