Military restoring hope to troubled communities – Group

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Citizens for Peace and Unity (CPU), a Non-Governmental Organisation, says the Nigerian military is quietly restoring peace to troubled communities across the country.

The group’s Public Secretary, Mr Ishaq Yusuf, made this known while briefing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.

The theme of the News conference is, “Analysis of ongoing military operations: Way forward for Nigeria.”

Yusuf said the position of the group was hinged on the recent testimonies from some eminent persons in the country on the successes of the military against terrorists.

He said that the Senator representing Kebbi Central, Adamu Aliero, had recently said that the military had successfully chased the Lakurawa terror group out of Nigerian territory.

According to him, the senator said the operation against the terrorists by the army was imperative to prevent what happened in the North-East from replicating in the North-West.

He quoted Alieri as saying, “troops pursued the terrorists out of the country on Tuesday after the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, and other critical stakeholders intervened.”

The CPU spokesman said that Gov. Usman Ododo of Kogi State, also lauded the armed forces for ensuring peace in Bagana in Omala Local Govern Area of the state and its environs.

“For those of us who don’t know the background, Bagana, once known as the commercial hub of Omala Local Government due to its proximity to the River Benue, served as a trans-border business haven.

“The community was also among the last to practice trade by barter, a system of exchange common in the past.

“However, due to ethnic differences, farmer-herder clashes, and other underlying conflicts, the once peaceful and heterogeneous community became a theatre of war.

“However, our military has played a very significant role, helping to restore peace in the Area,” he said.

Yusuf also commended the military for the rise in daily crude oil production from 1.23 million barrels to 1.8 million barrels per day as of October as revealed by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

According to him, the group felt these issues cannot be overlooked like that.

“It is against this background that this group is coming out this afternoon to speak to our eminent citizens to come out more and openly declare support and encourage our troops who are quietly restoring peace across the country.

“Testimonials coming from eminent citizens on the successes by our armed forces is an encouragement to Nigerians that light is at the end of the tunnel.

“We commend Gov Ododo and Senator Aliero. Their voices are strong and have encouraged our troops that what they are doing is yielding fruits.

“We know several Nigerians have one good story or the other to say about our troops,” he said.

The group called on the citizens to support the military to completely defeat the non-state actors, saying, “it is not the time to keep quiet.”

He added that the military had continued to play its role to make more resources available, urging political leaders to play their part.

“This afternoon, Citizens for Peace and Unity commends the Armed Forces of Nigeria under the able leadership of Gen. Chris Musa for this and several other testimonies of what they are doing.

“We use this opportunity to call for more support and encouragement for our troops, their continued sacrifices must not be in vain,” he added. (NAN)