Buhari Is Right To Seek International Assistance To Battle Boko Haram

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has hailed President Muhammadu
Buhari for his shuttle diplomacy aimed at forging a stronger regional
front against the Boko Haram insurgency, saying the President should
be praised rather than pilloried for his efforts.

''Boko Haram, which started off as a Nigerian problem, has now assumed
a regional dimension, affecting many countries in West Africa.
Therefore, any solution to the crisis, if it is to endure, must be
regional in nature, with Nigeria taking the lead,'' the party said in
a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Besides, it said since terrorism has assumed a global dimension, no
nation, not even the superpower United States, can fight the growing
menace alone.

''This is why even in our days in opposition, we advocated a regional
solution to the crisis,'' APC said.

The party said President Buhari's trip to Niger and Chad, two of the
countries worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, showed that he
understands the regional dimension that the insurgency has assumed,
and that for any effort by Nigeria to yield positive results, it must
seek the cooperation of its neighbouring countries.

It urged the President not to relent in his efforts to forge a
regional front against the terrorists, despite the misguided criticism
emanating from certain quarters.

''It is baffling that some opposition politicians wanted Nigeria to go
it alone against Boko Haram, even as the terrorist group has taken its
battle beyond the shores of Nigeria, to such countries as Cameroon,
Chad and Niger. It is common knowledge that the terrorists use these
countries as launch pads for their attacks against Nigeria, and vice
versa, and that they routinely engage in cross-boundary raids.

''It is common knowledge that Boko Haram's tentacles have spread as
far as Mali, the home base of the Movement for the Unity and Jihad in
West Africa (MUJAO), a splinter group of the Al-Qaida in the Islamic
Maghreb. It is no longer a secret that Boko Haram has now affiliated
itself to the Islamic State, seeing itself as the West African chapter
of the terror group. How then can Nigeria effectively deal with Boko
Haram without seeking the assistance of other concerned countries?''
APC queried

The party reminded the critics of the President's trips to Chad and
Niger that even the United States sought and has continued to seek a
global coalition against Al-Qaida and Islamic State, despite the
country's enormous military, economic and political powers.

APC said it was particularly delighted that President Buhari has
continued to insist that the Nigerian Army is capable of leading the
fight against Boko Haram, meaning that while there is nothing wrong in
seeking the cooperation of Nigeria's neighbours, the country has no
business hiring mercenaries to lead the battle.

''That vote of confidence in our military is the first step in the
efforts of the Buhari Administration to restore the glory of the
once-globally-acclaimed Nigerian military through morale boosting
measures that will include arming and kitting the troops effectively
and caring about their welfare so that they can more effectively
tackle the terrorists,'' it said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Abuja, June 6th 2015