Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has called on citizens of the State to be calm, reassuring that security forces are making frantic efforts to safeguard lives and property which, he noted, was evident in the patriotic manner the armed forces repelled an attack by insurgents on Maiduguri, capital of Borno, earlier on Sunday.
The Governor however regretted the attack in Monguno, headquarters of Monguno local government area in northern part of the State, which might have resulted in loss of lives and the exodus of many citizens that are now taking refuge in different parts of the State with some of them sustaining gun injuries in addition to loosing property.
Shettima said the Government was screening and taking records of surviving victims from Monguno with a view to accommodating them and offering them immediate palliatives as internally displaced persons. He called on them to regard what happened as ordained by God, praying that the situation will insha Allah, come to an end, through intensified commitments on the part of all stake-holders and sustained invocation of God for divine intervention.
The governor further said his administration was regularly providing all necessary support to armed forces involved in counter insurgency operations across the State and will continue to do everything humanly possible until territories seized by insurgents and reclaimed and sustainable peace and stability achieved in all parts of the State.
Governor Shettima spoke to local journalists on Sunday afternoon in Maiduguri. “Our armed forces gallantly repelled attacks on parts of Borno State today. We must commend their patriotic efforts. We are very much in touch with leaders of security forces and we will continue to afford them all the support they need as we have always done from our first day in office till date. So long as we have the resources, we will continue to regard the efforts to reclaim peace, our number one area of commitments. I want to reassure the good people of Borno State that we will never abdicate from our responsibility as those they entrusted with leadership.
“ I was supposed to be in Abuja this morning for an important engagement but I have canceled all engagements outside Borno State. We will remain behind with our people through thick and thin as we have been doing as a matter of constitutional and moral covenant. I condole with families, friends and associates of any innocent citizen that might have lost loved ones as a result of the unfortunate incident in parts of the State. I commiserate with those that might have suffered injuries and lost property. I assure the people of Borno State that we are very committed to our duty as their leaders.
“We have never forgotten about the situation of things in Borno, not for one second. We are not just consistently troubled by happenings, we have, like I explained last month during the 2015 budget presentation, been working very hard. Recently, we went round the northern Nigeria, meeting different past and present leaders, we secured the commitment of every one of them we met, especially those geographically affected. Along with them, pressures are being combined and channeled to the right authorities to ensure that the insurgency problems are brought to an end as quickly as possible. We are very hopeful that our efforts will eventually yield results that will be evident. My heart bleeds whenever I remember the deaths, the injuries, the lost communities and the displaced persons of Borno. I know the burden of leadership on my shoulders as Governor of the State and I know my responsibilities within the limits of my constitutional powers, influences and resources. I have been deploying all, within my limits as Governor and I will continue to do, including making continued efforts to get more influences that are beyond me. I am pained by the happenings in our dear State. Indeed, I am but I am also very hopeful that things will turn around for good.I urge the good people of Borno State to remain optimistic and vigilant. We should open our eyes wide to take note of any strange person and movement in the our midst which we should promptly report to authorities without causing panic.
“We should make sure we don’t (spread) information we have no basis to pass on so that we don’t create and spread rumors that will end up causing confusion that will direct energies towards wrong directions while providing openings to our collective enemies to seize opportunities provided by the confusion we create through rumors, to advance their threats against our existence as a people. Parents and guardians should kindly watch over their children to monitor where they go and who they move around with or bring home. School authorities should take proper control of pupils.
“Residents should cooperate with armed forces and always regard them as partners that put their lives on the line so we all can be alive. I am confident that no matter how long darkness lasts, it must give way to light because it is light that truly exist and not darkness, for darkness is merely the absence of light which is always temporary. The problems of Borno affects not just all citizens of Borno State but indeed all Nigerians. Crisis, as I have always said, is a mobile monster. It moves to where it is absent once it succeeds in one place. I pray that no part of Nigeria witnesses what we have seen in Borno State. I pray that we overcome this problem in the soonest of times. Allah Ya ba mu zaman lafiya” Governor Shettima was quoted to have said.
