CHIEF of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Olusegun Petinrin, has assured Nigerians that the incessant insurgence and destructive activities of the Boko Haram sect was a temporary setback, just as he boasted that members of the sect would soon be apprehended and clamped behind the bars.
The military boss made this assertion in a chat with Saturday Tribune after conluding the delivery of a lecture entitled “Military Power as an Instrument of Foreign Policy: Nigeria’s Experience,” where he underscored the relevance of the military in foreign policy implementation, at the instance of the Fourth University of Ibadan/National Defence College Distinguished Lecture held in the Large Lecture Theatre of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday.
When asked the roots of Boko Haram’s imbroglio, the Guest Lecturer asked jocularly but instructively : “Indeed, I would want you to ask them “What is their problem, other than blind terrorism to inconvenience people and disturb people, especially in the North? But we assure Nigerians that it is a temporary thing. We will soon bring all of them to book. And all of them will be behind bars very soon,” he boasted.
He, however, stated, when asked when the onslaught of the sect would end, that like other countries battling with similar challenges, Nigeria may have to manage the situation in the meantime.
“When you are talking about terrorism, there is never really a total winning of a war against anything. Once it is with us, it is with us. We will manage it until it is no longer with us. Just as the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Pakistan and other nations have and are still managing theirs, we shall also manage ours,” Petinrin assured.
Earlier in the programme, Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Adewole, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor Elijah Bamigboye, who described the Guest Lecturer as a most responsible and foremost pilot Nigeria ever had, lauded the Armed Forces of Nigeria for their immense contributions to nation-building.
The Chief Host and Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Shyngle Kolawole Balogun and Host, Acting Head of Department, Dr. Osisioma Nwolise, in their goodwill addresses, lauded the military, saying officers of the profession should be accorded respect, love, sympathy and appreciation for signing off their lives for the unity and the protection of the citizens and the territorial integrity of the country.
Highlights of the occasion, which was attended by dignitaries including Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Rear Admiral Thomas Jonah Lokosin; General Officer Commander 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Adekunle Fajuyi Cantonment, Ibadan, Major General Muhammad Abubakar; Controller, Immigration Service, Mr J. O. Olaitan and Acting Registrar of the institution, Mr Victor Adegoroye, among others, saw the presentation of a plaque to the Guest Lecturer by Professor Bamigboye, with an applause from the audience.
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