Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has called on the federal government to hire foreign mercenaries and seek other forms of external support from neighbouring countries, in order to end insurgencies in Nigeria.
Zulum, who is also the Chairman of North-East Governors’ Forum, made the call on Wednesday, at the commencement of the ‘4th North-East Governors’ Forum meeting’.
He lamented the high rate of insurgency, especially, in the Northeastern part of the country, and called on the new Service Chiefs to devise tactical measures to counter the current and future attacks in the region.
“As it is now, especially in Borno state, violence being perpetrated by insurgents seems to be on the increase.
“It has become a matter of tactical necessity for the new Service Chiefs to devise a new and authentic strategy to counter the current attacks and to stop any future attacks.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on the federal government to seek support from our neighbours, especially the republics of Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
“This is with a view to providing a joint action that will look into the possibility of ending this crisis.
“Furthermore, the federal government must look into the possibility of hiring mercenaries, with a view to ending this insurgency,” he said.
Zulum, also lamented that the challenges, as well as the possibilities of overcoming them in the region, seemed to be endless.
He appreciated the British government and its High Commissioner, for their tremendous contributions to the reduction of insurgency in the North-East sub-region, saying that with their support, the region had identified most of the daunting challenges facing them individually and collectively.
The governor added that they had been able to identify possible causes of action, through shared responsibility and commonality of purpose, to arrive at desired outcomes.
“This challenge ranges from the seemingly unending issue of insecurity, banditry and kidnapping, to cattle rustling, and from gender-based violence, to youth restiveness.
“The fact that we’ve been able to identify the challenges facing us is an indication that we are on the right track of overcoming them,” he said.
The meeting was attended by Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state, Babagana Zulum of Borno, Mohammed Yaya of Gombe state, and Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa state.
Others included Darius Ishaku of Taraba state, who was represented by Haruna Manu, his deputy, as well as Mai Mala Buni of Yobe state, who was also represented by his deputy, Idi Gubana.
NAN
