‘Nigeria at critical stage in fight against Boko Haram’

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto (left) in a handshake with former Defence Minister, T.Y Danjuma at the Sokoto Airport yesterday. With them is Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah and former Minister of Youth, Malam Inuwa Abdulkadir

Former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilos Danjuma (rtd) yesterday said Nigeria was at the critical stage in the fight against Boko Haram because of how the insurgents melted and disappeared into the populace.

He also observed that the biggest threat  to the nation’s corporate existence was intra and inter-religious rivalry and conflict.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Sokoto Dioceses Multipurpose Secretariat, he said:”We are now reaching a very, very critical stage in the fight against insurgents who were defeated while holding territories and mounting flags.”
He noted that they would now disappear into the populace adding that identifying them requires a great deal of intelligence which the country lacks.
According to him, “the intelligence of Boko Haram is far better than our own intelligence because they sweep all our offices and other public places.”
Danjuma recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari was the first Muslim that denounced and christened them as terrorists while urging other Muslims to disown them.
He however identified the failure by religious faithful to communicate with one another coupled with the years of bitterness as responsible for the present state of the country.
The former Minister however, called on all Nigerians irrespective of their differences to unite and collectively defeat Boko Haram.
He advised members of the Sokoto dioceses to make the Secretariat another platform for interfaith dialogue to resolve misunderstandings among religious faithful.
Earlier, former Head of Service, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed said there is no compulsion in Islam and that God knows why he created under one nation.
He therefore, called on Nigerians to live in peace with one another and desist from doing anything capable of dividing the country.
The Governor of Edo state, Adams Oshomole at the event faulted those condemning Muslims because of the activities of Boko Haram, expressing optimisms that the country would soon overcome its challenges.
Sultan of Sokoto who was represented by Ubadoman Sabon Birni, Alhaji Malami Sheikh Abubakar commended Bishop Mathew Kukah for his sustained commitment to the peace and unity of this country.