The All Progressives Congress (APC) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari
\nfor his shuttle diplomacy aimed at forging a stronger regional front
\nagainst the Boko Haram insurgency, saying the President should be praised
\nrather than pilloried for his efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201dBoko Haram, which started off as a Nigerian problem, has now assumed a
\nregional dimension, affecting many countries in West Africa.<\/p>\n
Therefore, any solution to the crisis, if it is to endure, must be
\nregional in nature, with Nigeria taking the lead,\u201d the party said in a
\nstatement issued in Abuja on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary,
\nAlhaji Lai Mohammed.<\/p>\n
Besides, it said since terrorism has assumed a global dimension, no
\nnation, not even the superpower United States, can fight the growing
\nmenace alone.<\/p>\n
\u201dThis is why even in our days in opposition, we advocated a regional
\nsolution to the crisis,\u201d APC said.<\/p>\n
The party said President Buhari\u2019s trip to Niger and Chad, two of
\nthe\/countries worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, showed that he
\nunderstands the regional dimension that the insurgency has assumed, and
\nthat for any effort by Nigeria to yield positive results, it must seek the
\ncooperation of its neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n
It urged the President not to relent in his efforts to forge a regional
\nfront against the terrorists, despite the misguided criticism emanating
\nfrom certain quarters.<\/p>\n
\u201dIt is baffling that some opposition politicians wanted Nigeria to go it
\nalone against Boko Haram, even as the terrorist group has taken its battle
\nbeyond the shores of Nigeria, to such countries as Cameroon, Chad and
\nNiger. It is common knowledge that the terrorists use these countries as
\nlaunch pads for their attacks against Nigeria, and vice versa, and that
\nthey routinely engage in cross-boundary raids.<\/p>\n
\u201dIt is common knowledge that Boko Haram\u2019s tentacles have spread as far as
\nMali, the home base of the Movement for the Unity and Jihad in West Africa
\n(MUJAO), a splinter group of the Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. It is no
\nlonger a secret that Boko Haram has now affiliated itself to the Islamic
\nState, seeing itself as the West African chapter of the terror group. How
\nthen can Nigeria effectively deal with Boko Haram without seeking the
\nassistance of other concerned countries?\u201d<\/p>\n
APC queried<\/p>\n
The party reminded the critics of the President\u2019s trips to Chad and Niger
\nthat even the United States sought and has continued to seek a global
\ncoalition against Al-Qaida and Islamic State, despite the country\u2019s
\nenormous military, economic and political powers.<\/p>\n
APC said it was particularly delighted that President Buhari has continued
\nto insist that the Nigerian Army is capable of leading the fight against
\nBoko Haram, meaning that while there is nothing wrong in seeking the
\ncooperation of Nigeria\u2019s neighbours, the country has no business hiring
\nmercenaries to lead the battle.<\/p>\n
\u201dThat vote of confidence in our military is the first step in the efforts
\nof the Buhari Administration to restore the glory of the
\nonce-globally-acclaimed Nigerian military through morale boosting measures
\nthat will include arming and kitting the troops effectively and caring
\nabout their welfare so that they can more effectively tackle the
\nterrorists,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n