Yemisi Izuora
President Muhammadu Buhari says federal government is taking necessary measures to end the suicide bombings by Boko Haram terrorists, saying the attacks are like the last kicks of a dying horse.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Pulaaku Radio in Yola, Adamawa
State, on Sunday, the President, who was represented by the Minister
of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Boko Haram has
been massively degraded and its surviving members put on the run.
”Instead of being hunters, they are now the hunted. In their
desperation to stay relevant, they have resorted to the wicked and
dastardly act of using innocent under-aged children to carry out
suicide bomb attacks.
”But what we are witnessing now are the last kicks of a dying horse.
Yes, these kicks may be dangerous, but they don’t last long.
Progressively, they become weaker and weaker until the horse finally
dies,” he said.
President Buhari said the war against Boko Haram has moved to the next
phase, which is intelligence-driven, with a view to ending the suicide
bombings.
”That is why I approved the establishment of an intelligence fusion
centre in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to gather and share
intelligence among security agencies in the country. This will go a
long way in ending this campaign of suicide bombing,” he said
The President said the new phase would depend largely on information
and communication, and therefore rallied the media, especially radio
and television stations, to play their part in enlightening the
populace.
”We are building on the nationwide campaign we launched last year,
with the payoff line: ‘If you see something, say something’. It simply
means that we need everyone to be involved in getting the necessary
information to tackle the terrorists. They are not ghosts, and some of
them live among us. We must all, therefore, support our gallant
troops, many of whom have made the supreme sacrifice in this war, by
providing information that can help rid our communities of terrorists
”It is important for the media – especially radio and television – to
continue to play their part in this war, by offering their
platforms to communicate useful information to the populace. As part
of our sensitization campaign, which is still running on national
radio and television as we speak, we put out those little signs that
give up the terrorists, and which the people must watch out for. Help
us communicate this information to the people,” he said
The President described as most auspicious the timing of the
commissioning of the radio station, and implored it as well as other
radio stations to donate airtime for the national sensitization.
