Nigeria’s Jonathan Makes Surprise Visit To Insurgency-hit Northeast

Hamilton Nwosa
Writer
Just In: APC Disowns Goodluck Jonathan Amid 2023 Antics

Ad

It’s all so confusing, by Hakeem Baba-Ahmed

By Hakeem Baba-Ahmed On all matters of national security, the responsible thing to do is exercise restraint, discretion and distance as dictated by one’s proximity to facts and commitment to the general good. Precisely for the same reasons, however, matters involving lives and livelihoods, peace and public safety cannot be left entirely to leaders. There…

PDP Crisis Escalates as Sule Lamido Threatens Legal Action Over Denied Chairmanship Form

By Abiola Olawale The internal strife gripping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to escalate, as former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido threatened to sue the party after being allegedly denied the opportunity to purchase the nomination form for the upcoming National Chairmanship contest. ​The development comes just weeks ahead of the National Convention…

Seismic shifts and power contestation between Nigerians and government, By Owei Lakemfa

By Owei Lakemfa Aliko Dangote has become the first African-born billionaire to reach and surpass a $30 billion net worth. This October, 2025, with a new valuation gain of $430 million, he achieved a net worth of $30.3 billion. But, his on-going quixotic contestations with the Nigerian Constitution and the United Nations Universal Declaration of…

Ad

President Goodluck Jonathan made a surprise visit to insurgency-plagued northeast Nigeria on Thursday, a rebuff to critics who say he has ignored the plight of victims of Boko Haram Islamist militants.

“What you’re doing is not easy,” he told officers and soldiers at an army barracks in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state.

“We thank you as a nation. Terrorism is a global phenomenon. We’re working day and night, trying to curtail this madness.”new Insurgency in Northeast

Jonathan is running for re-election in a Feb. 14 vote in which security is a major issue. His main rival, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, is seen as tough on security.

It was the president’s first visit to Borno, the area worst affected by the advance of rebels seeking to carve an Islamic state in Nigeria, since he declared a state of emergency in the northeast in May 2013.

Jonathan has been criticised for not doing enough — and often not saying enough — about relentless Boko Haram attacks that have killed thousands of civilians, kidnapped hundreds and pose the greatest security challenge to Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy.

His administration was seen as slow to react when the insurgents abducted some 200 schoolgirls last April.

The group’s fighters seized the military base and town of Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, on Jan. 3. Baga was the headquarters of a multinational force with troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon. The militants have killed scores and razed dozens of homes there, with the military putting the death toll at 150, while some local officials have put it as high as 2,000.

Nigerian security forces repelled an attack by Boko Haram on the northeastern town of Biu on Wednesday, killing several insurgents.

Soldiers have complained of a severe lack of equipment and arms in the face of a determined foe.

“We will assist you to succeed in your efforts. We will give you what is due to you,” Jonathan said. “In terms of equipment, we are better off now than when we started”.

Ad

X whatsapp