Borno: Zulum, Shehu of Borno Decry Rising Boko Haram Attacks

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, and the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, have raised alarm over the escalating attacks by Boko Haram/ISWAP, urging the federal government and security agencies to take decisive action before the situation spirals out of control.

Over the past months, communities in Borno have suffered relentless assaults with insurgents targeting villages and military outposts, particularly in Sabon Gari, Wajiroko and Wulgo, among others.

During an expanded security meeting at Government House, Zulum urged the federal government to prioritise the security of the North East, particularly Borno State, which shares borders with three neighbouring countries—Chad, Cameroon, and the Republic of Niger—as well as security concerns in the Sahel region.

“While we appreciate the tremendous support from the federal government and the military, we also want to state that with the current focus in the fight against insecurity shifted from the northeast, all the gains we have recorded so far will be reversed.”

“In recent times, Borno State has been witnessing sporadic attacks from Boko Haram insurgents; many military formations were dislodged, such as in Wulgo, Wajiroko and Sabon Gari, among others. It seems we are losing ground.”

“Therefore, we want to appeal to the federal government to ensure that the northeastern part of the country receives the desired attention. It seems the focus of the Nigerian Army and the Ministry of Defence is not on the northeast.”

Governor Zulum stated that the northeast, particularly Borno State which is neighbouring three countries in the troubled sahel region deserves more attention from federal government in its resolve to fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

Zulum further stressed, “The recent escalation of Boko Haram attacks across the state is a matter of utmost concern. There is an urgent need for aggressive military action and actionable intelligence to counter the insurgency. The recent attacks on Sabongari, Damboa, Wulgo, Baga and Monguno point to the need to up our ante in confronting BH insurgency decisively and swiftly.”

“I call on our armed forces to not only mount checkpoints and guard our towns and villages, I also call on our armed forces to take the battle to the enemy. We should not grant breathing space to the terrorists to regroup, rearm and carry out attacks on our territory. By engaging in relentless patrols, picketing and decapitation missions, our troops should defeat and end the insurgency in time so that our recovery plan will progress without let or hindrance”, he said.

The Governor restated his commitment to continually support the military and other security agencies working in Borno State to achieve their objectives of fighting insurgency in the state.

The Governor noted, “Borno State government will continue to work closely with the armed forces to execute our development and peacebuilding programmes. We are deeply conscious of the nexus between development, security and peace. Hence, as we invest in critical infrastructure, we are also opening new avenues for our citizens to engage in agriculture and sustainable livelihood.

He added, “All these will not be possible without resourcing and empowering our security agencies to secure our territory and safeguard citizens’ lives and property. My government will continue to support our defence and security agencies while pushing them to perform better when encountering terrorism, insurgency and criminality.”

Briefing journalists after the closed-door session of the security meeting, Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Professor Usman Tar, noted that among the resolutions at the end of the meeting, the security council had expressed support to Borno State Government’s resettlement efforts.

The meeting was attended by the GOC 7 Div, Major General Abubakar Haruna, Traditional rulers from the 7 emirate councils of Borno and other heads of security outfits.

Borno: Zulum, Shehu of Borno Decry Rising Boko Haram Attacks

Yobe: Member representing Jakusko repairs 250 hand pumps across constituency

By: Yahaya Wakili

In a bid to alleviate the suffering of water faced by his constituents, Honourable Ya’u Usman Dachia, Deputy Speaker and a member representing Jakusko constituents in the Yobe State House of Assembly, has embarked on a tour for repairs and servicing of 250 handpumps across his constituents. He thanks God, and His Royal Highness, Royal Father, Mai Bade, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Suleiman agreed he gave me the traditional title of Gado Da Masun Bade.

My constituents are the place where they voted me in, and if not because of my constituents, I would not find myself in the Yobe House of Assembly, and I didn’t go there to sit down and parade myself as a leader; I went there to represent my people of Jakusko local government, and everywhere, if they say you are a representative of the people, it’s almost like you are a messenger. After that, there is some responsibility on you to see that your people are enjoying themselves, are in good health, or are living in peace; that is why I am going round my constituents.

 The time I was the chairman of the local government, I knew how I did my job in Jakusko as a chairman. If you met me, you presented your problem of your town or your village. Inshallah, before I go to the office, I will visit the town, and if the town is far, I will go to the office first, and on my way coming back home, I will branch to the town. If they tell me that our borehole has a problem, you, the complainer, before returning back home, will meet the mechanics repairing the borehole.

“The reason for doing these is because the masses, I am fearing, will question you about what you did to your people or why you live while your people are suffering. Alhamdulillah, I saw the impact of doing this. The reason why I say so is, to the best of my knowledge, Jakusko, they present many members, and all of them did only one tenure, but I have been doing it for three times now, and the masses agreed to vote for me, so there is a mature understanding between me and them. They agreed with me, and I, too, agreed with them. I will not agree with what will cheat them.

So I observe that I am in the house of assembly. I sit down with the governor and give him the advice that this is how I want to do it. He agrees, and then I embark on this tour of every village or town, and if there is a hand pump in Jakusko, I assure you I will go stand on it. Even if it is functioning, I will tell the mechanic to check it if there is a problem with the pipe or the pipe is not supplying enough water or has a problem, or if the pipe has become old and needs replacement, we will replace it, and then we will move to the next village. We have about 250 hand pumps in the Jakusko local government, and I assure you that I will repair or service them all. I will not go back to the office until I complete this work.

I started this work two days before Ramadan, and I spent almost the whole month on this tour, and now, immediately after Sallah, I will go back to continue with my work. Alhamdulillah, people understand the impact of it. They reach the level where people from the other village will come and request, Please, sir, live in that one and come and attend to us. We don’t have water.” I will reply to them, No, we are following step by step, line by line. Go and wait for your turn. After we finished our work, we would inform the public that if there is any village that we omit, they should let us know, and we will come back and repair it again.

Yobe: Member representing Jakusko repairs 250 hand pumps across constituency

Bade, local government chairman, prays for Governor Buni

By Yahaya Wakili

The Executive Chairman of the Bade local government council, Yobe State, Hon. Ibrahim Babagana, has said the entire people of Bade local government will continue to pray to Allah (SWT) to reward His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Yobe State, Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON (Chiroman Gujba), with Aljannatul Firdaus.

Ibrahim Babagana revealed this to newsmen shortly after the end of the durbar at the emir’s palace at Gashua, the headquarters of the local government council.

He said, We, the entire people of Bade, don’t have anything to tell Chiroman Gujba except to thank him. God reward him and all that a leader is supposed to do for his people. Governor Mai Mala Buni has done for us. He said, first, if you look at roads, the Buni administration has linked all our communities with roads. If you come to market, we have a market even in the northeast; we are proud of it. Nowhere has a standard market like us.

“If we come to primary health care, there is no village or town in Bade local government that doesn’t have a health center, doesn’t have facilities, staff, and even wards; any ward has facilities. On the agriculture front, the Buni administration distributed farm implements to us, such as tractors, fertilizers, seeds, plows, threshers, and other farm implements. We were getting so many things that our masses benefited from it. And all these are courtesy and great achievements of His Excellency, Governor Mai Mala Buni, CON, Chiroman Gujba.

“In fact, between us, the entire people of Bade local government and His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Yobe State, Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON, continue praying for him. May Allah (SWT) reward him, may Allah reward him with Aljannatul Firdaus, and may Allah accept our prayers. Amen. And what remains to us, we the masses, is only loyalty, support, and cooperation with Buni’s administration.

Hon. Ibrahim Babagana said a visionary leader has done his own part; he solved all our problems and our entitlements, he fulfilled all his campaign promises to the people, and what remains is for us to follow him 100% and continue praying for him. May Allah continue to guide him and complete his tenure successfully, and may Allah guide him to bring a good successor who will continue from where he stopped.

Therefore, my appeal to the people is to be loyal always and always accept what God brings us. All that God designs, nobody can change it, and anything Allah did to you, if you say you didn’t agree, you must suffer. Therefore, we, the people of the Bade local government area, are together with His Excellency. Governor Mai Mala Buni CON Chiroman Gujba.

At the durbar, Babagana said, The Bade emirate council organized a durbar to celebrate the Sallah festivities, and there are so many cultural heritage and dances on display, and in the whole Yobe state, there is no other emirate that organized Sallah festivities on day one and day two and concluded with a durbar like the Bade emirate council. This is a proud moment for me and for the entire people of the Bade local government generally.

He further said on the first day, His Royal Father came and sat down, and thousands of people performed cultural heritage dances in different colors, and on day two, they set up a committee to organize a competition on horse racing. During the competition, they got first, second, and third positions, where His Royal Highness was sitting watching, which was very interesting. It was something for motivation to improve the cultural heritage of the Bade local government, and people supported it.

Bade, local government chairman, prays for Governor Buni