—North-East govs to establish regional security outfit – Zulum
By ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has stated that the deteriorating security situation in the country particularly in the North-East region shows that the governments have failed to protect its citizens.
Governor Mohammed stated this in his speech at the 4th NorthEast Governors’ Forum meeting held at the Government House, Bauchi on Wednesday.
He expressed worry about the recent escalation of the insecurity in the region, adding that state governments must accept the reality of the situation and address it headlong.
He said: “We must be honest in appraising the security situation and be bold in confronting those bent on destroying the country and be patriotic”.
“It is a choice that we must make to stop the enemies of the state. If we must be honest, the public opinion at the moment is that we have failed and many of our people have resorted to self-help. This is a measure of discourse and despondency.”
He led the gathering to observe a one minute silence in honour of the gallant troops who lost their lives in the course of protecting lives and properties of the citizenry.
In his speech, the Chairman of the Forum, Professor Babagana Zulum, lamented that the federal government has not shown much commitment to end the insurgency ravaging the region.
He therefore, said that the Forum is making plans to form a regional security outfit to help in tackling the challenges.
On his part, Gov. Zulum said: “With the current escalation of deadly attacks by the terrorists, the various actions being taken against them seem to have some limitations in terms of the expected impact. Hence, the need for a new set of pragmatic and result oriented initiative to completely pursue the terrorists and ultimately end the insurgency.
“Again, I want to use this opportunity to call on the federal government to seek for support from our neighbours countries especially the Republic of Chad, Cameroun and Niger with a view to providing joint action that will lead to the end of this crisis”.
“Furthermore, the federal government has to look at the possibility of involving the mercenaries because, it seems the commitment is not there. Therefore, for us to end this insurgency, we must be committed enough, we must bring in external support and hire mercenaries to end this insurgency.”
Speaking on the efforts of the North-East Governors to address insecurity and the plans for the regional security outfit, he said: “On our part, in addition to the logical, logistical and financial support we have been rendering to the armed forces in their fight against general insecurity in the subregion, we should also look into the possibility of forming a security outfit within the ambit of constitutional precedence and operational feasibility as has been done in other parts of the country.”
NATIONAL ACCORD reports that the governors in attendance include: The Host Governor, Bala Mohammed, and his counterparts: Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, Gov. Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa, and Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno .
Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni was represented by his deputy, Idi Gubana and that of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, was also represented by his deputy, Haruna Manu.
PHOTO: Borno state governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum (left) and Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammed (right) at the meeting
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