Despite unending attacks, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday insisted that, with a 30-month civil war experience, the Nigerian military is capable of winning the war against Boko Haram and competent to manage the crisis in the entire North-east, Thisday Report.
He stated this while receiving the European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian and Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, in the State House, Abuja.
The President’s assertion came less than 24 hours after Boko Haram killed five people and abducted several others in Dikwa, Borno State. On the same day, Buhari sent the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, to Adamawa, to condole with its Christian community over the killing of two clergymen last Monday by terrorists.
The President said: “If we were capable of fighting a 30-month civil war and reorganised our country, I wonder why people are thinking that Nigeria cannot do it.
“We have the experience of the civil war. I could recall the role of the military, the army; each commander had in his pocket how to behave himself, and how to allow international bodies like yourself to go round and see that people are treated in the most humane way.
We have this experience and I assure you that we also have this confidence in your organisation. That is why I feel that Nigeria is capable of handling this crisis, it may take long but we are capable of handling it.”
Buhari also blamed the inability of the Nigerian military to subdue the insurgents on the increasing proliferation of arms in the G5 Sahel region.
He said, “The important thing really is weapons reaching the Sahel; the instability it is causing. Look at the casualties in Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali; Libya has a direct impact on the stability of the Sahel.
“As for Boko Haram, we try to disabuse the minds of the people and I think our people now understand the basic dishonesty in it. With my experience personally in the civil war, I am sure we will get over it.”
The President also told the EU that one of the next priorities of his regime was to rehabilitate Internally Displaced Persons in the North-east, adding that it informed his decision to create an exclusive Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
“I assure you that we are aware of these problems and we will continue to do our best. The newly created Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs is coordinating NEMA and others, to make sure that whatever resources we get are well utilised. The ministry will be accountable to the government instead of having too many bodies doing the same thing. We are also reaching out to foreign countries explaining to them our position, and we are confident we will get over it.”