Suleiman Umaru
Worried by the Consistent attack by the Islamic Fundamentalists, BokoHaram, on Communities and Mosques in Borno state, President Muhammadu Buhari appears to have taken the bull by the horn to mobilise other member countries of the Lake Chad Basin to review their military Strategy in the ongoing war against the Insurgents in the north east geo-political region of Nigeria which had spread to Cameroun, Niger and Chad.
The recent Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Countries, OIC, in Makka, Saudi Arabia, , has provided opportunity for the Katsina state born Nigerian President to have one on one talks with Idris Derby, his counterpart in Chad on the BokoHaram operations in the Lake Chad Basin region. He has drawn the attention of the Derby, the Chadian President that ”it was time for a ”new way forward that would completely remove the threat of terrorism from the region”.
The Nigerian President may have talked sense into the Chadian President, who security experts are suspicious had been playing double game in coming out openly to support with all his mind the fight against the Insurgents that he had agreed for the sub-regional leaders to sit down and agree on changing the strategy of waging the Insurgents ”for a more sustained operation, which will continue until the terrorists threat are brought to a permanent end”.

Given the Chadian
Note that since the Insurgents took up arms against the north eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, which share Boundary with the Central African country of Cameroun, and West African sub-regional countries of Chad and Nigeria, appears to have been their hideout after every operations , particular in, over the years,in Borno or Yobe, fueling speculation that security officials in the West African country are working with them..
Derby , according to security sources, was a close ally of late President Mum mar Quadafi of Libya who never hid his feelings about the country size and therefore, should be balkanised. It was therefore , not surprising why many believe that that the arms used by the Insurgents in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe and some member countries of the LCBC, were from Libya through Chad.
Derby , the Chadian President may have exposed himself to people’s suspicision as he has never condemned in strong terms the activities of the Insurgents or given a marching order to the country security agencies to fish out the Criminal elements from their hiding places. His silence speaks volume. It is not surprising why people are very happy that he has thrown his weight behind the Nigerian president to call for a Summit of the member countries of the LCBC , to sit down and talk on how to tackle the Islamic Fundamentalists and restore peace in the sub-region.
Security experts want the LCBC member countries to act fast as BokoHaram and its offshoot , ISIS -West Africa , remain a serious security threat to Communities across West and Central Africa Lake Chad region. The 2018 country reports on terrorism released by the United States Department of State shows that the Insurgents have caused about 2.5 million people in the north east, comprising of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to flee their ancestral homes.
Note that Nigeria, Niger , Chad and Cameroon are currently working together with the formation of the Multi-National Joint Task Force , MNJTF, to counter the threats of Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa. The United States may have known the military strength of the group that it took it upon itself to provide advisors, intelligence gathering , training , logistical and equipment to the LCBC member countries under the threat .
Many believe that the Insurgents are taking advantage of the LCBC member countries porous Borders, particular, Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, to launch attacks, evade capture, secure supplies and enroll new recruits. Officials of the U.S. Global Support Contingency Fund, GSCF, say Regional Cooperation is essential to strengthening Border security between Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon to be able disrupt the terrorists freedom of movement.
The Nigerian President may have known this that he gave a marching order to the country Chiefs to block the nation’s Borders to forestall the free movement of the Insurgents to conduct their attacks and evade Capture.
Security experts believe that if Presidents Derby of Chad, Mahmadou Issoufou of Niger and Biya, of Cameroon , could follow the foot- steps of the Nigerian President to order the security Chiefs of their respective countries to close their Borders with neighbouring LCBC member countries, the Insurgents would be frustrated and may be forced to flee from the region to other OIC, where terrorism thrives like Syria, Yemen, and Libya including Somalia, in Southern African sub-region where al- Shabaab, a terrorist group, have their operational base
given the intensified efforts of the Nigerian government to flush out the Insurgents from the Country, Tukur Buratai, a Lt General and Chief of Army Staff is optimistic that the remnants of group still launching attacks in the north east, particular Borno state, would be completely degraded soon that they would not have the capacity to attack any Community again, for fear of being Captured. He has every reason to think along that line. This because the President is not happy over the security situation of the country and is prepared to provide all the necessary logistic and equipment support to the military and other security agencies to do their job of curtailing the activities of the Insurgents. Indeed, he has not hesitated in doing so.
The planned June
In 2019, Mr Buhari once again wielded his party’s symbol – a broom – on the campaign trail. No longer representing a clean break from the past, this time he promised to take Nigeria to “the next level”.