Tukur Buratai, former chief of army staff, says it may take
20 years to end the insurgency in the north-east.
Appearing before the senate committee on foreign affairs on
Thursday, Buratai said the war against insurgency is complex.
The former army chief was being screened by the lawmakers
following his nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari as an envoy.
The retired general said the political, social and economic
problems that were not addressed by successive governments have fuelled the
insurgency.
“The situation is that of asymmetric warfare. It is a
complex operation. It is something that started more than 30, 40 years ago.
They have penetrated communities both in Nigeria, Chad, Niger,” he said.
“Five local governments in Borno state cannot have good
access roads since independence till now.
“The same thing in the north-west. There are so many
ungovernable spaces and until those locations are penetrated with the right
infrastructure and amenities, then we will carry everybody along and education
is very fundamental.
“These are the realities, the truth must be told because
this cannot end at the dictates of time and may take another 20 years and that
is the truth.
“Only the military is seen to solve this thing but it is
not. Military cannot solve this action. In the first place, it wasn’t the
military that started it.”
Buratai said when he assumed office in 2015, the army had no
equipment.
“Today we have invented our own indigenous vehicles to
change the narrative,” the former army chief said.
“Most of those areas that were occupied by Boko Haram
terrorists have been taken over by our troops. We need more training, manpower
and equipment to sustain it.”
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What happened to "they have been technically defeated"?
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