How to finish Boko Haram, by Gambari

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Ibrahim Gambari has called for a multi-faceted approach against the Boko Haram insurgency.

Gambari, who spoke on: “Terrorism in Nigeria: Effects on the Polity and Development”, at the ongoing Nigeria National Security Summit, said Boko Haram represented the greatest threat to Nigeria.

“Degrading the military capability of Boko Haram is only one of several strategies that are needed to really, in a much sustained way, deal with violence extremism.


“Following the recent success recorded by the military in the fight, which must be commended and built upon, the non-military threats to national security must now be given utmost priority,” he said.

Gambari said National Security must now focus on the enhancement of human security, which encompasses non-military threats, such as environmental hazards, socio-economic conditions and transnational crime, affecting the individual, communities and states.

“In other words, while a state or a part of it, such as the Northeast, may be physically secure, there may be human insecurity within its border,” he said.

Gambari stressed the need to urgently draw up and implement a National Plan of Action against Boko Haram.

“The current wave of insurgency and insecurity in Nigeria has introduced additional dimensions to the challenges facing the country.

“Boko Haram represents the greatest threat to Nigeria’s national security and socio-economic development. In developing a National Action Plan to Combat terrorism and violent extremist groups, a multifaceted and comprehensive approach must be developed, including degrading their military capabilities.”

He said peace-building strategies to be implemented to address the underlying causes of Boko Haram, should address widespread poverty, social inequality and injustice, and inadequate education.

It must also address endemic corruption, weak state institutions, stagnant socio-economic development, smuggling networks and sundry trans-national crimes, which provides financial support for the activities of terrorist groups.

Gambari called for the monitoring and control of small arms and light weapons, including the movement of illegal/economic migrants susceptible to crime within the West African sub-region.

source: nigerianeye