The General spoke on Thursday in Sokoto
If Nigeria is to ‘holistically’ win the war against terrorism, its citizens must be allowed to defend themselves, by carrying arms, an army commander has said.
The Commander, 1 Brigade, of the Nigerian Army, Tasi’u Ibrahim, said Nigerians should be allowed the right to defend themselves if the country was to win the war against terrorism.
Mr. Ibrahim, a Brigadier General, made the call in Sokoto while addressing the Brigade’s 2014 Officers Training Day.
He stressed that this was one of the measures that should be adopted “if Nigeria is to holistically win the ongoing war on terror.”
According to him, this is being practiced in developed nations of the world.
Mr. Ibrahim listed other measures needed to defeat Boko Haram to include strict monitoring and severe restriction on the importation of certain goods being used to aid and abet such crimes.
He stated that such goods included motorcycles.
“It has been proved that a good number of the insurgents use them (motorcycles) for their attacks,” he said.
“A good number of those selling petty things by the roadside in most of the nation’s cities are simply easy preys in the hands of these insurgents.’’
He also expressed concern with town planners in the country, “who allow the erection of illegal shops scattered all over the nation’s major cities.”
He called for urgent review of national planning system, settlement patterns and borders to check terrorism in the country.
The commander also reacted to the Senate’s directive that the Chief of Army Staff should move to Borno to help quell the Boko Haram insurgency there.
He said the Chief of Army Staff does not necessarily have to relocate to the insurgency-prone states.
“The Chief of Army Staff is everywhere already, hence his representatives across the nation,” he said.
He advised that national resources should be deployed in earnest towards addressing the ugly situation since “the army is just but a fraction of the national powers.’’
(NAN)
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