Buhari seeks more military actions against sect

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday called on member-countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to redouble their efforts and strengthen the operations of the Multi-National Joint Task Force established to tackle the insurgency in the sub-region.

Buhari said the Boko Haram insurgency would be brought to an end very soon with greater cooperation between Nigeria and its neighbours.

A statement by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, quoted the President as speaking in N’djamena, Republic of Chad, during bilateral talks between Nigeria and Chad.

The President was reported to have said that Nigeria and its neighbours must cooperate in a sustained manner because their security issues are interwoven.

He said he was sure that the MNJTF, when fully deployed and functional, would be able to secure and stabilise all the areas affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. The MNJTF draws troops from Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Buhari’s remarks came on the heels of Wednesday’s appointment of Major-General Tukur Buratai of the Nigerian Army as the Force Commander of the reorganised MNJTF, which also has Benin Republic as honorary member.

The President thanked Chad for its support in the fight against insurgency and terrorism.

“Your troops have stood shoulder to shoulder and fought gallantly with ours in the fight against the forces of evil. This is a remarkable show of good neighbourliness, which we must reinforce in the years ahead,’’ he reportedly told the Chadian President Idriss Deby.

Buhari further expressed the concern that the Boko Haram insurgency had taken a huge toll on citizens of both countries, many of whom have been forced to flee their homes.

The President said that the images of displaced citizens of both countries in search of safety and succour must spur their governments and others in the sub-region to do more, stressing that concerted effort was required to restore the victim’s dignity.

He said both Nigeria and Chad were bound by nature and that they must therefore work together to find lasting solutions to issues of border management, migration and movement of goods and services.

The President, who had earlier thanked his Chadian counterpart for attending his inauguration ceremony on May 29 in Abuja, said that he would return to Nigeria with the assurance that Nigeria and Chad are poised to intensify their cooperation.

In his remarks, Deby commended Buhari for his “wise decision’’ to relocate the Nigerian military command centre from Abuja to Maiduguri.

The Chadian President said that the decision, which was announced in Buhari’s inaugural address, was a right step towards restoring peace and security to states affected by terrorism and the sub-region.

He assured President Buhari that Chad would continue to work with Nigeria to achieve lasting peace and security, given their historic, cultural and economic ties.