‘Boko Haram Weakened, But Not Defeated’ – Gov Yahaya

Gombe State Governor and Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, Inuwa Yahaya, has said the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East has been weakened but remains a threat to communities in the region.

Naija News reports that Yahaya said this on Saturday at the 13th meeting of the North-East Governors’ Forum in Maiduguri, Borno State, as he reviewed the region’s progress and ongoing challenges since the forum was established in 2020.

The governor said insecurity remained a major obstacle to development in the region, noting that banditry and communal conflicts had also emerged as additional threats.

“Boko Haram has been weakened but not defeated, and we still see attacks on our communities. Banditry and communal clashes are emerging as new threats,” he said.

Yahaya expressed concern that many people displaced by insurgency had yet to return to their communities because of lingering security concerns.

He said the region had recorded progress in several areas, including infrastructure, energy, economic development, education, healthcare and security, but argued that significant challenges remained unresolved.

The governor identified the non-realisation of the Mambilla hydropower project, railway connectivity to the North-East, and expansion of broadband infrastructure as outstanding priorities requiring sustained attention.

He also called for the benefits of the Kolmani oil exploration project to move beyond potential to actual production, employment and revenue generation.

“Our solid minerals must be mined legally and for the benefit of our people, not to fund criminality,” Yahaya said.

Reflecting on the formation of the North-East Governors’ Forum, the Gombe governor said the six states initially came together because the problems confronting the region could not be effectively tackled by individual states.

“When we first met in Gombe, we did so out of necessity. The challenges confronting our region were greater than any one state could solve alone,” he said.

According to him, issues such as insurgency, banditry, cross-border crime, infrastructure deficits, energy shortages and the humanitarian crisis cut across state boundaries and therefore required collective action.

Yahaya said the forum had subsequently developed institutional structures, including a permanent secretariat, technical committees and sectoral groups to improve coordination among the six states.

The governor highlighted several areas where he said the forum had recorded progress.

He cited the joint presentation of strategic road projects, the proposed Port Harcourt-Jos-Bauchi-Maiduguri railway corridor and exploration opportunities in Kolmani and the Lake Chad Basin to the Federal Government.

He also pointed to the rehabilitation of the Dikwa-Gamboru Ngala and Bama-Banki roads and the adoption of the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Biu-Maiduguri highway as a legacy road project.

On power, Yahaya said the Dadinkowa Hydropower Plant was supplying electricity to the national grid, while the new electricity framework had created opportunities for states to develop renewable energy projects.

The forum also revived the North-East Trade Fair and developed plans for a regional airline through a N30bn financing arrangement involving the six states.

Despite the progress recorded, Yahaya urged the governors to be candid about the problems still confronting the region.

“Too many of our children are still out of school, and our health indicators remain among the weakest in the country. We must be honest with ourselves and with our people. The challenges we set out to confront in 2020 have not gone away,” he stated.

He said the region needed stronger implementation and accountability mechanisms to ensure governors’ decisions translated into tangible improvements for residents.

Yahaya also called for continued efforts to address poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, drug abuse and illegal mining, which he identified as factors that could contribute to insecurity.

He said community-based security initiatives in some states could provide useful lessons for the wider region.

The governor further urged the governors to strengthen regional cooperation and ensure that the progress recorded by the forum was sustained by future administrations.