Northeast governors on Monday told President Muhammadu Buhari that Boko Haram terrorists were recruiting more members to take over the territory.
They told the president that pragmatic approach must be adopted to tackle the issue of insurgency in the region.
The governors met with Buhari and other security chiefs in Abuja on Monday to find ways forward to end insecurity in the region.
Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, at the end of the meeting with the President told newsmen that there was need for the Federal Government to address the causes of insurgency, which were not limited to endemic poverty, hunger, among others.
He said one of the causes was that of access to farmlands, saying that people needed to go back to their farmlands and needed to be resettled in their original homes so that they could restart their means of livelihood.
According to him, “This is one of the reasons the insurgents are recruiting more into the sect. Therefore, creating an enabling environment for the people to go about their normal duties will no doubt reduce the cases of insurgency.”
Zulum stated that since he was attacked by Boko Haram, he had held series of consultations with security chiefs and that security was not only about the Federal Government.
He pointed out that there was a need for the federal, state, and local governments to come together with a view to proffering solutions that would end this crisis in the region.
Zulum said most importantly, there is war economy in the region, saying that was why they met with Buhari.
“So, I think the government is taking a bold step with a view to ensuring the speedy resolution of some of the grey areas that we have in the region,” he said.
