By Babalola Seyi
Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd), said President Muhammadu Buhari has kept his pledge to defeat Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province, ISWAP.
Buratai made the claim in an interview with journalists in Abuja, recalling that President Buhari pledged to conquer terrorist organizations in his inauguration address on May 29, 2015.
However, the former COAS emphasized that believing victory over Boko Haram terrorists meant the end of hostilities was incorrect. That would happen, he argued, only if terrorist organizations agreed to abandon their ideology, accept democracy, respect the national constitution, and seek peace.
Buratai stated that the President has had clear-cut plans to crush the opposition since his inauguration.
He recalled the president in his inaugural address saying that the military command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram has been completely subdued.
“I say this with every sense of responsibility that the Buhari administration has subdued the Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism,” said Buratai.
According to him, the president came fully prepared with all the right information about the root causes of the insurgency and terrorism.
Buratai said that the Boko Haram insurgency was allowed to manifest before 2015 by official bungling, negligence, complacency and collusion.
This, he added, made Boko Haram become a terrifying force, taking tens of thousands of lives and capturing several towns and villages, covering swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory.
“This is the true summary of the Boko Haram armed insurrection. The murder of Muhammad Yusuf by the police was clearly extrajudicial. Negligence, complacency and collusion with the proponents and strategic leaders of the Boko Haram insurgency for selfish reasons caused the insurgency to degenerate into a full-blown nightmare,” he added.
