NE Governors Seek Mercenaries for BH

Northeast Governors Call for Mercenaries Against Boko Haram 

By Sadiq Abubakar

Taraba State Governor, Ishaku Darius has declared support for Governor Babagana Umara Zulum’s request that the federal reengages mercenaries to join the Nigerian armed forces in ongoing fight against Boko Haram insurgents terrorizing Borno in particular, and some parts of the northeast.

Darius spoke on Tuesday in Maiduguri when Governors of Adamawa, Ahmadu Fitiri, Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed and Gombe State, Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya on sympathy visit to Borno people.

The visit was in the wake of boko haram’s beheading of over 40 farmers from Zabarmari community that was attacked last Saturday at a village in Mafa local government area of Borno.

He said “We are here to condole you over the killing of farmers by Boko Haram insurgents. We are indeed saddened and traumatized. I will key into your request, which you said that the federal government should invite some mercenaries to come and help us out of this problem, because what you can’t do, what you can’t solve, I think we should invite who can solve it for us. We cannot continuously be mourning, there has to be a time to stop the mourning. All of us in the North East Governors Forum, we are pleading with the federal government to find a solution to the issue of Boko Haram because if we neglect it, it will become even worst”.

The Taraba Governor also appealed to the federal government to look into the infrastructural deficit in the northeast region.

Speaking further, Governor Ishaku said, “We also call on the Federal government to look at the northeast with sympathy, it is embarrassing in the whole budget, what is given to the northeast is 0.35%. With all these problems, we are having, with the insurgency, all the problems, with the insecurity, from the whole federal budget of Nigeria, only 0.35% is allocated for the northeast. This is very unfair. The federal government should look at the issue of infrastructure in the northeast, and the issue of Mambila hydropower project. Without this power we will not indeed have any meaningful development”.

Governor Zulum expressed appreciation to the delegation for their visit to condole with government and people of Borno State.
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