Insecurity: Hire mercenaries, collaborate with neighbours to end insurgency, Gov Zulum tells FG.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State …As Bauchi gov calls for the creation of State Police By Charly Agwam – Bauchi The governor of Borno state and Chairman of the Northeast Governors Forum, Babagana Zulum has urged the federal government to hire mercenaries and collaborate with Nigeria’s neighbours to end the insurgency.
Governor Zulum made the statement in his opening remark at the 4th meeting of the Northeast Governors Forum held in Bauchi on Wednesday, where he also lamented the low impact of military tactics in the fight against insurgency in the subregion. Flanked by Governors of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and deputy governors of Yobe and Taraba who represented their principals, the Borno state governor said that nothing tangible could be achieved in an unfriendly atmosphere. “With the current escalation of deadly attacks by the terrorists, the various courses of actions seem to have some limitations in terms of the expected impact, hence the need for a new set of pragmatic and result-oriented initiatives to completely subdue the terrorists and ultimately end the insurgency.
“Again, I want to use this opportunity to call on the federal government to seek support from our neighbours, especially the Republic of Chad, Cameroun and Niger with a view to providing a joint action that will lead to the possibility of ending this crisis. Furthermore, the federal government has to look into the possibility of involving mercenaries with a view to ending the insurgency. “Because it seems the commitment is not there.
For us to end the insurgency we have to be committed enough, we must to bring in external support, ensure mercenaries are hired to end this insurgency. On our part, in addition to the logical and financial support we have been rendering to the armed forces in their fight against general insecurity in the sub-region, we should also look into the possibility of forming a security outfit within the ambit of constitutional precedent and operational feasibility as has been done in other parts of the country,” he said.
Zulum further advocated for the conversion of all boarding schools to day schools in affected places where kidnappings have occurred while also calling for the protection of critical infrastructure to avoid a repetition of a terrorist attack on electricity infrastructure that has left Borno in darkness for the last seven weeks. Giving his welcome address, the host governor, Bala Mohammed who supported his Kaduna State counterpart’s call for the creation of State Police reiterated his belief that recruitment of locals in the Armed Forces to guard their own localities would drastically reduce insurgency in the subregion and nationwide.
He noted further that the state police if established, would provide complementary efforts for the activities of the federal police and wider coverage of police protection and other relevant engagements. Vanguard News Nigeria
