Th e end is not in sight for the menace of Boko Haram due to the raging attacks in recent times by gunmen, suicide bombers and abduction. Despite claims of being degraded by the military, reports from the epicentre of Boko Haram revealed that the insurgents are still within the fringes of Sambisa forest and adjoining villages within the Biu, Mafa and Damboa axis. It is from these places that they launch attacks through the use of their suicide bombers on the capital city of Maiduguri and environs. It is quite pathetic that in spite of claims by the military that the sect has been degraded and we are still seeing massive attacks and even released of videos in recent time especially by the Abubakar Shekau faction on their successes made.
In fact, it seems Boko Haram members have devised a method of getting fi nances through abduction as this can aptly be seen on the abduction of the ten women, that are conveying a corpse for burial along Damboa-Maiduguri road and they are using the abduction of the women as bargaining chip to secure the release of their commanders or get fi nancial gain from the federal government so as to continue their satanic activities. It is disheartening, that in spite of promises made by President Muhammadu Buhari and the acquisition of weapons by the military in recent times, Boko Haram are still going on with their activities especially in Borno State unhindered. What is happening in the epicentre of the Boko Haram now is giving people including the international community a lot of concern. In fact, a lot of people opine that the military is not taking the war to Boko Haram rather when Boko Haram attacks the military or strikes in the villages, the military only repels them and not completely waging and showing superior power over the Boko Haram fi ghters. Th ough the war is not a conventional one, the military are trained and can annihilate Boko Haram and its foot fi ghters. Th e military as a strategy needs to take the war to the doorstep of Boko Haram rather than allowing them to strike fi rst before repelling them as is the case now.
Th at is why Boko Haram fi ghters are daily killing thousands of people within Borno State. It is imperative for the military to once and for all deal decisively with the remnants of the Boko Haram, who are daily killing innocent souls in the name of waging a jihad against Muslims. Some captives, who were fortunate to have escaped from the den of Boko Haram lamented on the kind of things that they are doing that runs contrary to the norms and belief of the religion of Islam. Th erefore, it behooves on the people living within the Borno State axis to cooperate with security agencies by giving them information of the Boko Haram and the place they inhabit so that drastic action can be taken against them. Th is is the only way to see to the end of the fi ght that is raging in the North-east for nearly nine years now. Apparently, the Boko Haram elements are trying to make things very diffi cult and this would not augur well for the development of the country, especially the northern part.
Th e military needs to stamp its feet and rout out the remnant of the insurgents. Th is can be from the fringes of the Sambisa, Lake Chad basin and Cameroon. Th e ten women abducted recently on their way to bury their own were traumatised and there is the need for the government to enter negotiation with the insurgents for their release. And from the look of the environment, it is clear it is a bush in Nigeria and probably within Borno axis. A stitch in time saves nine. Usman Santuraki, No2, Santuraki Close, Jambutu, Jimeta, Yola
