THE Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Lt. Gen. Jeremiah Useni (rtd) yesterday gave an insight into the emergence of the deadly Islamic sect, Boko Haram, saying that the group used to function as a political thuggery cell to a former governor of Borno State.
The retired army general who spoke with State House correspondents, after separate meetings with President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo also supported the use of force by the Nigeria Army to flush out Boko Haram, saying that “like in war, the soldiers must be working on information on the Boko Haram. Innocent ones would definitely be killed in the process of trying to dislodge the Boko Haram members from their base”.
This is just as the leadership of the ACF called for the convocation of a Northern Peace Summit to discuss and proffer possible solution to the menace of the Islamic sect, currently ravaging the region.
Gen. Useni disclosed that he had earlier warned the former governor against the use of thugs during election, saying that like in Rivers state where thuggery gave birth to militancy, Boko Haram used to be a political thug group; but later metamorphosed into a terror entity.
His words: “Just like the Boko Haram issue, it started like a Borno affair but now it is becoming a national problem. I remember when I was the Deputy National Chairman of the ANPP, I went to the state (Borno) to commission some projects and when we were driving along one of the major streets, I saw young boys selling petrol in jerry cans and I asked him (the governor), why he allowed them to be selling on a major road like that, and he said, “no, no, leave them they are very useful, during the general elections, we can use them to turn everywhere.”
“So, it means they were used during the elections. So, that was how it all started. And if you remember, we had the same problem again in Rivers State where one of the former governors used thugs and at the end of it, they became militants. So, there is always reason for something”, he said.
The ACF, Chairman attributed the emergence of Boko Haram to bad leadership and political thuggery but suggested a summit, as a way out. He said: “There are lots of things responsible for all these and the best way is for us to sit down and tell ourselves the truth”.
According to him, it is for this reason that the ACF is organising Arewa Peace Conference in December this year; stressing that “all the governors will come so that we will sit and talk and our monitoring group will follow up”.
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