Boko Haram Degraded, FG Assures Global Community
Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama has assured the international community that the destructive activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group has been greatly curtailed.
Onyeama stated this in New York that threats from the Boko Haram insurgents were, however, not yet over.
He noted the cases of suicide attacks on soft targets and the abduction of civilians but said the sect was no longer on the offensive.
He also urged the international community to realise that the fight against Boko Haram was not a conventional warfare.
“This is a fight that sometimes you don’t even know who you’re fighting. So you have to be careful because someone you think is a friend can turn out to be an enemy.”
According to him, the capability of the sect had been weakened through the decisive leadership provided by President Muhammadu Buhari and the military.
“The Boko Haram crushing was used in a context. Before the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration came into power, Boko Haram captured territories.
“Boko Haram was an existential threat. But today, they are no longer holding any territory; they now only engage in soft targets,” he said. According to him, the Federal Government will continue to cooperate with the international community to share strategy to overcome the security challenge.
“We will use the General Assembly to continue to strategise against Boko Haram.
“I am happy to announce that the present U.S. administration has made weapons available to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram,” Onyeama said.
He regretted that the U.S. Government refused to sell weapons to Nigeria at some point but that the position had since changed with administration of President Donald Trump.
“I think the problem to certain extent was really not too much with the executive of the U.S. Government but the legislature, the Congress.
“There were a number of Congressmen that were holding out against it. President Donald Trump came in and he gave our President the assurance that he will get these weapons to Nigeria.
“So obviously he’s been able to convince those Congressmen who were opposed to it,” he said.
