this is a new dawn .....
President Muhammdau Buhari on Friday in Abuja
directed the central command of the military to
relocate to Maiduguri, Borno, to intensify the fight
against Boko Haram insurgency.
Buhari, who gave the directive in his address after
his inauguration, said it was impossible to
achieve victory against the insurgents if the
command continued to operate from Abuja.
He said that the command center would relocate
and remain in Maiduguri until the insurgents were
subdued.
He appealed for patience from Nigerians to enable
his administration to settle down and face the
challenges in the nation.
"My appeal for unity is predicated on the
seriousness of the legacy we are getting into.
With depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices,
leakages and debts the Nigerian economy is in
deep trouble.
"It will require careful management to bring it
round and to tackle the immediate challenges
confronting us, namely, Boko Haram, the Niger
Delta situation, the power shortages and
unemployment, especially among young people.
"The most immediate is Boko Haram insurgency.
Progress has been made in recent weeks by our
security forces but victory cannot be achieved by
basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja.
"The command centre will be relocated to
Maiduguri and remain there until Boko Haram is
completely subdued,'' Buhari said.
He, however, said that the victory would not be
complete without rescuing the Chibok girls, and
other innocent people held by the insurgents,
alive.
Labeling the group as "ungodly", he pledged to
investigate, determine origin of the group as well
as the remote and immediate causes of the
movement.
He promised to uncover the sponsors of the
group, their international connections and to put
measures in place to forestall reoccurrence of
such terrorism.
"We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram
without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other
innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.
"This government will do all it can to rescue them
alive. Boko Haram is a typical example of small
fires causing large fires.
"An eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny
following was given posthumous fame following
his extra judicial murder at the hands of the
police.
"Since then, through official bungling, negligence,
complacency or collusion, Boko Haram became a
terrifying force taking tens of thousands of lives
and capturing several towns and villages covering
swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory," he said.
''Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group who
are as far away from Islam as one can think of.
"At the end of the hostilities when the group is
subdued the Government intends to commission a
sociological study to determine its origins and the
remote and immediate causes of the movement.
"We will also determine its sponsors, the
international connections and ensure that
measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of
this evil,'' the president added.
He promised that the Armed Forces would be fully
charged with prosecuting the fight against the
insurgency by overhauling the rules of
engagement to avoid human rights violations in
their operations.
He said that the overhaul would improve
operational and legal mechanisms ''so that
disciplinary steps are taken against proven
human right violations by the Armed Forces''.
The President also promised to look into other
issues of insecurity, including kidnapping, armed
robbery, herdsmen/farmers clashes and cattle
rustlings, in the country.
"We are going to erect and maintain an efficient,
disciplined people, friendly and well-compensated
security forces within overall security
architecture,'' he stressed.
