Nigerian Chief Of Army Staff, Buratai Gives Hint Of The Source Of The Killings In The North

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. (File Photo)

Tukur Buratai Who Commented For The First Time After Plateau Killings,  Urges Nigerians To Live Peacefully, Hints That Killings Are Induced Internally And Externally.

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has hinted that the incessant killings across the country as internally and externally induced.

The  Tukur who addressed journalists at a press conference organised in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to commemorate the flag off of the 2018 Army Day celebration, said that the Nigerian Army is not sleeping but “continuously exploiting all the linkages and leads towards addressing the security challenges we shall get to the roots of all the crisis militarily.”

In his words,

“The current crisis in Plateau, Benue, Taraba and Zamfara states are both induced internally and externally,” Mr. Buratai said without elaborating on the internal and external factors.

“So many forces are against Nigeria. The target is the corporate existence of Nigeria as a country. The blame game along ethnic and religious fault lines is not the solution. Nigerians must unite to solve this serious challenge.

“The Nigerian Army is not sleeping. We are continuously exploiting all the linkages and leads towards addressing the security challenges we shall get to the roots of all the crisis militarily.

He also commend that the Army saying that the army has made “giant strides” in the last one year in combating security challenges.

We are aware of the many security challenges that have bedeviled this country in the last decade or so. However I am pleased to state that the Nigerian Army has made giant strides in this regard particularly in the last one year.

“Our security architecture as a country is one with a very positive outlook. We have not only consolidated on the gains established in the fight against insurgency in the North-east but have progressed to the post stabilisation phase where all efforts are geared towards ensuring displaced persons return to their biological homes which are now safe.

While appealing To Nigerians to live peacefully among one another, Buratai asked them to avoid celebrating insecurity on social media.

We must be tolerant of one another and give peace a chance. let us also remember that no nation can develop or be economically vibrant without peace.

“I therefore want to use this medium to solicit with us all to be our brothers’ keepers. We assure all Nigerians that the Nigerian Army is for you and will continue to work for the common good of the country while professionally carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.”

The army chief also called on Nigerians to consider the ongoing conflicts across the country including the Boko Haram insurgency as a national challenge that must not be celebrated by Nigerians especially in the social media.

He alleged that some Nigerians celebrate the “Boko Haram propaganda in the social media”.

“If we can get a hundred per cent cooperation of Nigerians, especially those that engage in the negative publicity about the security challenges, I think we will be able to reduce the conflict drastically as well as contain the Boko Haram propaganda.

“As far as I am concerned, the security challenges and Boko Haram propaganda which wittingly or unwittingly being spread so many persons in the social media, if we are patriotic enough we should all see it as a national challenge which we must all work towards resolving. If we eschew such propaganda by Boko Haram and all other individuals who have the interest to destabilize the country , then I can assure you we have find the solution to the insecurity in this country.

“If we celebrate insecurity we will continue to live with insecurity. So it is better for all of us to look at the challenges facing us dispassionately and see how we can bring it to an end.”