Lai Mohammed insists war against Boko Haram largely won
(Nigeria) The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, Wednesday insisted that the military has largely met the deadline
given to it by President Muhammadu Buhari to defeat Boko Haram, despite the
recent attacks by the terrorists.
''In a few days' time, the deadline issued by President
Muhammadu Buhari to the military to defeat Boko Haram will expire. Without
equivocating, I will repeat what I said that has sparked a firestorm: Our
gallant military has largely met the deadline! I make this assertion with all
sense of responsibility and they are backed by facts,'' the Minister said
during a meeting with New and Political Editors in Lagos.
He reiterated his earlier statement that the military has
massively degraded the capacity of the terrorists to carry out the kind of
spectacular attacks they used to execute in the past, like the attacks on the
police headquarters and the UN Complex, both in Abuja.
Alhaji Mohammed also said that in just six months of the
Buhari Administration, the Boko Haram that was in control of a territory larger
than an entire geo-political zone in Nigeria ''has been reduced to a fleeing,
bomb throwing, cowardly and disorganized army.
''Among the areas where Boko Haram has been kicked out is
Bama, which was the self-declared headquarters of their Caliphate. From there,
they collected taxes, dispensed jungle justice, deposed and installed Emirs and
hoisted their own flag. Today, the town is firmly in the hands of our troops,''
the Minister said.
He said all Boko Haram can do now is to attack soft targets:
Markets, Motor Parks, Mosques and Entertainment centres, killing innocent men,
women and children.
''Not unexpectedly, the dying and desperate insurgents have
carried out some attacks on soft targets in the North-east during this festive
season. This is cowardly, dastardly and condemnable. We commiserate with the
state governments and the families of those who died or were injured in the
attacks which, as I said earlier, are like the death pangs of a dying horse.
''These attacks are part of the propaganda that has been
launched by Boko Haram and their fellow terrorists, ISIS, to seek to remain
relevant in the face of massive routing by our gallant troops, and to also
discredit our committed and patriotic troops. But the attacks do not shake our
resolve a bit, in our determined quest to rid our nation of terrorists and
ensure the security of our citizens.
He challenged critics of his assertion that the military has
largely met the deadline to take a trip to the epicentre of the war against
terrorists in Borno state and then report to Nigerians what they have seen.
''The armchair critics who dispute these facts, from the
comfort of their living rooms, are free to take a trip to the theatre of war to
see things for themselves. Perhaps then, they will be more circumspecting in
issuing reckless statements that give nothing but succour to Boko Haram. I have
gone to the theatre of war to see things for myself. I did not just stop in
Maiduguri, I went all the way to Konduga, Kaure and Bama which, as I said, was
once the headquarters of the Boko Haram Caliphate,'' Alhaji Mohammed said.
''I want to appeal to other newspapers to follow suit and
cut off the oxygen supply to the comatose Boko Haram (by denying the terrorists
the publicity they so much seek). This is purely an appeal, as we have no
intention whatsoever to censor any media organization,'' the Minister
explained.
''As the military enters the mop-up phase of this war, what
is left now is the onerous task of resettlement, rehabilitation and
reconstruction, especially in the North-east, which is worst-hit by the war. We
appeal for support from all Nigerians in this regard, because the government
alone cannot handle this task,'' he said.
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