The War Against Terrorism

By Michael Jegede

After his triumphant outing in the poll last year, President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated his campaign promise to adopt a different approach, in tackling the Boko Haram insurgency, and securing the release of the girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, abducted in 2014 by the terrorist group.

In his inaugural speech to the nation on May 29, 2015, Buhari, as part of his strategies to ensure that the insurgents are completely subdued, announced the relocation of the Military Command and Control Centre from Abuja to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, believed to be the headquarters of the Boko Haram sect.

For Buhari, who was obviously worried by the extent of damage done to lives and property by the Islamic sect, nothing meaningful could be achieved in the battle to checkmate the Boko Haram militants with the command and control centre based in Abuja.

The authorities of the Nigerian Military seeing the seriousness the President attached to his directive for the Command and Control Centre to be moved to Maiduguri wasted no time in heeding to the order. The centre served as a forward command base for the Chief of Army Staff and other service chiefs with an alternate command centre established in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

With the President’s motivation and the moving of the Command Centre to the North East, the military, via well-coordinated operations was able to reclaim all the Local Government Areas that were fully taken over by the dreaded Islamic terrorists, within one year of Buhari’s assumption of office.

Former Governor of Yobe State and Senator representing Yobe East Senato- rial District, Abba Bukar Ibrahim, attested to the remarkable achievements recorded by the Buhari administration in its effort to decimate the Boko Ha- ram group when he said: “Definitely, there have been a lot of improvements compared to what has happened during Jonathan presidency. After all, when President Buhari took over there were at least 18 local governments which were totally under the control of Boko Haram. As of today, not a single local government is totally under the control of Boko Haram. They are just going round hitting and running hitting of soft spot and the military are doing their best to flush them out.”

The third term Senator who was heavily affected by the Boko Haram onslaught with his personal and family houses destroyed, added: “Quite a num- ber of people have started going back to Goniri, my home town.

A lot of people have started going back to the two local government areas in Yobe which were completely overrun and controlled by Boko Haram for over two years. Several other local governments in Borno too, people have started going back in places like Dikwa, Yala, Gwoza, Mongonu, Kukawa and other areas.”