Merging army varsity with NDA will help Boko Haram, says Zulum

Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, says scrapping the Nigerian Army University in the state will allow the Boko Haram terrorists to achieve their goals of killing education.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, Zulum appealed to President Bola Tinubu to rescind the decision to merge the army university with the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).

The merging of both universities is part of the recommendations contained in the Oronsaye report that the federal government is about to implement as part of reforms to cut governance costs.

Zulum said merging the army university with the NDA would set back gains made in the fight against Boko Haram in the state.

“We are all aware that Boko Haram’s primary mission is to truncate western education,” the governor said.

“Collapsing the Army University as a Faculty within the NDA is like helping the insurgents to achieve their objectives.

“I want to appeal to President Tinubu to rescind the decision to merge the Army University, Biu, with the Nigerian Defence Academy.

“Borno State has been facing a serious crisis for the last 15 years and as a result of this, many of our children could not have access to education therefore, this university is crucial to the people of Borno state and the entire north-east.”

The governor hailed the federal government for implementing the report saying it is long overdue and timely especially as the government is working to reposition the economy and block leakages.

However, Zulum said such reforms should not affect an institution that has been critical in advancing education in a state where terrorists oppose it.

“If possible, the federal government should allow it to function as an Army University, considering the importance of education in this part of the country,” he said.

“If this cannot be possible, we still want to appeal to the president to allow the federal ministry of education to take it over to become a conventional university.”

The Oronsaye report also recommended that the Air Force Institute of Technology become a faculty in the NDA.