Boko Haram: Northeast governors back Zulum’s call for mercenaries

Taraba State Governor Ishaku Darius has declared support for Governor Babagana Zulum’s request that the Federal Government should hire mercenaries to join the soldiers in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents terrorising Borno and other parts of the Northeast.

Darius spoke in Maiduguri when Governor Ahmadu Fitiri (Bauchi) Senator Bala Mohammed (Adamawa) and Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe) paid a sympathy visit to him.

The visit was in the wake of the Boko Haram’s beheading of 67 farmers from Zabarmari community who were attacked at a village in Mafa local government area.

Darius said: “Our dear brother, we are here to condole you over the killing of farmers by Boko Haram insurgents. We are indeed saddened and traumatised. I will key into your request, which you said that the federal government should invite some mercenaries to come and help us out of this problem, because what you can’t do, what you can’t solve, I think we should invite who can solve it for us.

“We cannot continuously be mourning, there has to be a time to stop the mourning. All of us in the North East Governors Forum, we are pleading with the federal government to find a solution to the issue of Boko Haram because if we neglect it, it will become even worst.

The Taraba governor also appealed to the Federal Government to look into the infrastructural deficit in the Northeast.

“We also call on the Federal government to look at the northeast with sympathy, it is embarrassing in the whole budget, what is given to the northeast is 0.35 per cent. With all these problems we are having, with the insurgency, all the problems, with the insecurity, from the whole federal budget of Nigeria, only 0.35 per cent only allocated for the northeast.

“This is very very unfair. The federal government should look at the issue of infrastructure in the northeast, I will once again call on the federal government, the issue of Mambila hydropower project, 3,500 megawatts should be looked at as matter of urgency. Without this power we will not indeed have any meaningful development”.

Zulum expressed appreciation to the delegation for their visit to condole with government and people of Borno State.