Former Military Head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida, has asserted that if provided with requisite resources, men of the Nigerian military have all it takes to defeat Boko Haram insurgents.
Speaking yesterday in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service monitored in Kaduna, Babangida noted that the military was well trained to defeat the insurgents and would do so if given all the resources needed to achieve the task.
His postulation is in reaction to doubts expressed by many stakeholders over the ability of the military to defeat terror in view of the resurgence in terror attacks, especially in some northern cities that had not been hit by the militants in the last six months.
The ex-military Head of state warned against the growing cynicism over the combat-readiness of the military, saying that it will be wrong to impute that the Boko Haram insurgents have overwhelmed the armed forces.
Shedding more light on a statement credited to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, which requested Nigerians to defend themselves since the security agencies have failed to protect them, the erstwhile military ruler said, “There are many people who misunderstood the call that His Royal Highness made. It is a religious obligation to protect yourself against people who want to cheat you.
“Like the Emir said, it is religious duty to protect yourself, your family and your wealth,” he restated.
Babangida called on people not to take laws into their hands, instead they should organize themselves on how best to secure their communities. He cited instances of how the people of Azare in Bauchi State repelled the insurgents on several occasions.
Debunking the beliefs in some quarters that ex-heads of state of northern extraction have refused to advise President Goodluck Jonathan on how to end the insurgency, the former head of a military junta reiterated that the lasting solution to the insurgency is for the people and government to unite in the war against Boko Haram.
Going back memory lane, Babangida recalled that several security challenges confronted his regime while he reigned as Head of State and stressed that every government should figure out how best to deal with its peculiar challenges.
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