THE Coalition of Civil Society for Transparency and Good Governance, has lauded the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s Defence strategies, saying it has ensured a sustained process of nation building and good governance in the last two years.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, National Convener of the group, Nkechi Odoma maintained that President Buhari through his Service Chiefs have continued to impress on Nigerians that the administration means well for the Nigerian state and her citizenry in all ramifications.
She commended the efforts of the Chief Of Army Staff, Lt Gen TY Buratai and other service chiefs for their tenacity, purposefulness and patriotism in aligning with the vision of the President to curtail the activities of dark agents who wanted to divide the country into pieces at all course.
She said through the efforts of the Army, Nigerians have almost forgotten that three years ago, terrorists operating under the Boko Haram franchise almost overrun the entire country.
She explained that currently, the Boko Haram terrorists are only able to attempt showing its presence in a limited geographical area which exploits the vulnerability of soft targets, which says a lot about how the Nigerian Army, under the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-general Tukur Buratai, has been able to degrade the terrorists.
She said, “We would not omit to mention that aside from degrading Boko Haram as a grievous threat to Nigeria, the Nigerian Army has done even better in preventing the ascendancy of other terrorist groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and extremist groups like the Niger Delta Avengers and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).
“These groups have been reported to have foreign backing so the threats the posed to the country were significant and it is remarkable that the Army was able to curtail the activities of these groups in the space of time under review in spite of the strident propaganda that they and their sponsors mounted against the Army and the COAS. Those that would have metamorphosed into bigger threats were decisively dealt with whilst the inherited terror groups have been served quit notices.”
According to Odoma, the degradation of the terrorists has freed up other facets of our national life such as agriculture in the northeast and commerce in the southeast, adding that the removal of these threats have positively impacted other facets of our national life to an extent that international confidence in the stability of Nigeria is reviving.
She also urged President Buhari to sustain the tempo of his achievements, particularly what the Army has done in turning the gun against Boko Haram and other insurgent groups in the country.
She said to achieve this, the President has to identify those that have demonstrated a profound commitment to his vision of Nigeria’s security and entrust them with even greater tasks.
She charged General Buratai to as a matter of national duty accelerate the offensive against the Boko Haram remnants even while deploying other non-combatant measures like the mobilization of religious and community leaders to ensure a quick end of Boko Haram and other terror groups.
Odoma also said it is important for the President to begin a process of identifying, preparing and mentoring the next generation of the military that will ensure that these hard-won successes are not lost in the future.