Buratai: It may take 20 years to end insurgency in north-east

Tukur Buratai, former chief of army staff, says it may take 20 years to end the insurgency in the north-east.

Appearing before the senate committee on foreign affairs on Thursday, Buratai said the war against insurgency is complex.

The former army chief was being screened by the lawmakers following his nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari as an envoy.

The retired general said the political, social and economic problems that were not addressed by successive governments have fuelled the insurgency.

“The situation is that of asymmetric warfare. It is a complex operation. It is something that started more than 30, 40 years ago. They have penetrated communities both in Nigeria, Chad, Niger,” he said.

“Five local governments in Borno state cannot have good access roads since independence till now.

“The same thing in the north-west. There are so many ungovernable spaces and until those locations are penetrated with the right infrastructure and amenities, then we will carry everybody along and education is very fundamental.

“These are the realities, the truth must be told because this cannot end at the dictates of time and may take another 20 years and that is the truth.

“Only the military is seen to solve this thing but it is not. Military cannot solve this action. In the first place, it wasn’t the military that started it.”

Buratai said when he assumed office in 2015, the army had no equipment.

“Today we have invented our own indigenous vehicles to change the narrative,” the former army chief said.

“Most of those areas that were occupied by Boko Haram terrorists have been taken over by our troops. We need more training, manpower and equipment to sustain it.”