and February 2017.
He added
that the terrorists destroyed 5,335 classrooms in 541 schools.
Shettima
said this while delivering a speech at the 2017 Murtala Muhammed Memorial
Lecture, an annual event held in commemoration of the third Nigerian head of
state who was assassinated on February 13, 1976.
While
delivering the keynote address titled, ‘Managing the Boko Haram Crisis in Borno
State: Experiences and Lessons for a Multi-party, Multi-ethnic and
Multi-religious Nigeria,’ the governor opined that the cure for religious
extremism remains quality education.
He said, “In
Borno, there are currently 54,000 widows,” adding that the political class
needs to step up its humanitarian efforts.
The governor
added, “Virtually all our schools are being rebuilt in Borno. As I said
earlier, a total number of 5,335 classrooms in 503 primary schools and 38 high
schools and two tertiary institutions were destroyed in the state.”
Shettima
urged the western world to assist Nigeria in the fight against terrorism and
the rehabilitation of victims, adding that the Syrian refugee crisis will be
nothing compared to Nigeria’s if the nation’s crisis is not well handled.
He added,
“Believe me, unless we wear our thinking caps as leaders, the future is very
bleak. We either take advantage of the demography and its dividends or reap
demographic disaster. As I said in Washington, Syria has a population of less
than 30 million people. I think it is in the interest of the Western world to
see that Nigeria works. Just two million Syrians knocking on the door of Europe
and the Europeans have become agitated. What do you say of about 30 million
English-speaking Africans knocking on the door of Europe?
“And in
Nigeria, South is the Atlantic Ocean; up North is the Sahara desert. We can eat
up the food reserves in Niger, Mauritania and all the countries in the Sahel
within a week. The other side is Togo which is not bigger than Ogun State.”
Also
speaking, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo urged political and religious leaders
not to encourage violence but peace.
Osinbajo
noted that great leaders like the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa; Martin
Luther King junior in the United States are remembered for promoting peace even
in the face of persecution.
Acknowledging
the guests for their solidarity to one of Nigeria’s heroes past, the Chief
Executive Officer of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation and daughter of the late
head of state, Aisha Oyebode, praised the President Muhammadu Buhari
administration for its achievements in the fight against terrorism.
She added,
“For those that knew my father intimately while he was alive, you would agree
that beyond the mien of the no-nonsense general, he was generous and
kind-hearted. He was more at home in the company of the masses, and understood
the pains and suffering of the downtrodden, and used all the power and
resources he had to fight for the weak and the oppressed within and outside
Nigeria. General Murtala Muhammed truly had empathy, which is why 41 years on,
his sacrifice and legacy as a man of the people, is still very worthy of
commemoration.”
“We, at the
MMF, believe that our theme for this year – Humanitarian Crisis and Response in
a Plural State: What Role for Leadership? – is a fitting tribute to General
Muhammed’s legacy.”
… Five
countries partner Nigeria to produce weapons
Olaleye
Aluko, Abuja
Five
countries – Poland, Turkey, South Africa, Pakistan and India – have partnered
the Nigerian Ministry of Defence to commence the production of weapons for the
armed forces to prosecute the war against the Boko Haram insurgency.
The Minister
of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said this on Monday at the Nigerian Army Research
and Innovation Summit in Abuja, adding that the partnership would include the
transfer of technology and skills to the armed forces.
The summit,
with the theme, “Research and Innovation: Developing synergy with indigenous
institutions for enhanced capacity in the Nigerian Army,” had the Chief of Army
Staff, Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai, and the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr.
Ogbonnaya Onu, in attendance.
Dan-Ali
said, “We are working on a partnership with the Defence Industries Corporation
of Nigeria and some foreign original equipment manufacturers with a view to
launching a pilot production line of some fast-moving arms and ammunition for
the armed forces of Nigeria. Through this effort, Nigeria will save its hard
earned foreign exchange.
“So far,
Poland, Turkey, South Africa, Pakistan and India have visited Nigeria for that
purpose of partnership. This partnership will, among other things, consider the
transfer of skills and technological innovations for the advancement of our
armed forces.”
Buratai said
178 military equipment were refurbished between July 2015 and now, and had
boosted the war against the Boko Haram terrorists.
He said, “We
have learnt the hard lessons of over-reliance on foreign equipment which was a
huge setback in the initial stage of our operations. Presently, 178 armoured
fighting vehicles have been refurbished and this is part of what has turned the
tide of operations in the North-East in our favour.”
“All army
corps and formations have been charged to intensify research and innovation
efforts towards developing the right weapons and platforms needed to solve the
identified battlefield problems. This charge led to the development of weapons
such as Odey Rechargeable Dynamo Exploder, and the Mini Clearing Armoured
Vehicle.”
Some
other weapons displayed at the summit are Infantry Patrol Vehicle (IPV) and the
Incinerator.
*PUNCH*
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