The governor of Borno State Babagana Zulum has warned Nigerians against referring to Boko Haram insurgency as the problem of Northern Nigeria.
Mr Zulum who gave the warning on Friday at the 17th Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos State, added that there won’t be peace in the nation is his state is not peaceful.
“We must stop seeing this insurgency as a problem of the North. The distance between Borno State and Lagos State is about 1,700km, but mind you if Borno State is not peaceful, other parts of the nation will never be peaceful,” the governor said.
“We have to unite and fight these insurgents. We have seen what happened in Libya, Iraq and other countries. Peace building and social cohesion are very important in strengthening the resilience of our communities.
“Unless we get rid of nepotism, tribalism and exploitation of religion, we will not get it right in this country. The constitution is very clear on the need for peaceful coexistence among all of us, which is why the principle of federal character is enshrined in the constitution, but it has been abused,” he added.
Insecurity ravaging the nation continues to rise. In the Northern region, bandits, terrorists and other criminal elements are having a field day while violent herdsmen are in the Southern part, raping, killing and also kidnapping citizens.
The atrocious acts of the herders gave birth to Amotekun in the South-West region while in the South-East, the Eastern Security Network was formed by outlawed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) to checkmate their menace.
