Borno state governor Babagana Zulum has said based on records despite recent killings in the state, “the security situation in Borno state and indeed the entire Northeast sub-region is still far better under the President Buhari administration”, than the previous administration.
The governor also said no one should be blinded by the recent killing of 43 rice farmers to pass judgment on the efforts of the Nigerian leader to checkmate Boko Haram insurgency.
The governor stated this on Sunday while addressing northern elders from the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
The ACF led by the chairman of its board of trustees, Ambassador Shehu Malami, and the forum’s executive chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, had paid a condolence visit to the government and people of Borno State over the killing of 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari, a farming community in Jere local government area of Borno.
Zulum, a Professor said: “From statewide statistics on affairs in the 27 LGAs since 2011, the fact is that despite recent happenings, the security situation in Borno State &, indeed, that of the entire North East sub-region is still far better under Buhari, & this is based on records.
“For instance, unlike the years before Buhari when a number of LGAs were no-go-areas, we now have indigenes safely back to Gwoza, Askira-Uba, Dikwa, Ngala, Monguno, Kukawa, Damboa, Konduga, Mafa… which no one could have visited not to talk of living there.
“Our Emirs were all in exile. Today, Bama is coming back to life and so is Askira-Uba, Damboa, Gwoza and others. Life is even returning to Baga. This was impossible before Buhari. In fact, it was not possible to move few kilometers out of Maiduguri.
“Insurgents were so bold to attack and take over military facilities, like the Army Barracks at Monguno, Bama, Giwa Barrack and Multinational Joint Task Force Headquarters at Baga, to mention just a few…but all these have stopped under Buhari.
“There were daily bomb blast attacks in many parts of Maiduguri, the most populated part of the state, but all these have stopped under President Buhari. These are the records and no one can dispute them.”
By Abel Ejikeme