Boko Haram: Gowon faults Buhari, Military on Dec. target

Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, on Tuesday, faulted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Military over the December deadline for terminating the Boko Haram insurgency in the country.
Recall that President Buhari had tasked the military to crush the insurgency in three months, ending December 2015. The military has also come out to say that it would meet the deadline.
Gowon said this in Abakiliki, the Ebonyi State capital, when he led advocacy visit to Governor David Umahi on Malaria and four other neglected tropical diseases in the country.
He said the Nigerian military will do its best to meet the December deadline but maintained that nobody can really and confidently talk about the particular time any military operation was going to end.
However, he was quick to say that he has absolute confidence that the Military would defeat the sect.
“I can tell you this, nobody can really talk about when any particular operation is going to end. And as a Commander-in- Chief, I know this.
“Yes, you can say you target a particular time, but it may finish before that time or it may go slightly beyond. To end it, that is the most important thing.
“I assure you that I have absolute confidence in our military that they are going to really deal with the situation as they are doing at the moment”.
Gowon expressed worry that the insurgents have resorted to using underage and innocent children as suicide bombers, noting that such initiative was inimical to the progress and development of the nation.
“May the spirits of these poor little children who are being brainwashed to carry out such heinous crimes rest in peace”, he added.
The former Head of State, who appreciated the successes recorded by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in the fight against Boko Haram, noted that President Buhari’s administration since it came on board has been doing a lot to end the insurgency in every part of the country.
He urged Nigerians to pray fervently, saying “prayer is an alternative and the most effective weapon to defeat Hoko Haram”.
“With prayers God will touch their hearts to change for better”, he added.