‘We can eradicate Boko Haram’ — Chadian president holds talks with Buhari on insecurity

Idriss Déby, president of Chad, says consistency in the operations of the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) can bring an end to Boko Haram insurgency.

MNJTF is a combined multinational formation, comprising units, mostly military forces, from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.

Speaking with state house correspondents on Saturday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Dèby lamented that the task force has not been carrying out enough of its required activities.

According to him, a situation where the MNJTF embarks on just one operation in a whole year has also contributed to the difficulty in defeating the terrorists.

“Boko Haram is indeed an evil that has hampered the four countries of the Lake Chad Basin and it has done much harm to our populations,” he said.

“It would be remembered that since 2013/2014, the four countries put together their means to create the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). The MNJTF has had good results.

“Unfortunately, the resilience of Boko Haram and the Islamic states in the Lake Chad Basin has been unprecedented. They are being supplied, being trained,  and being formed through Libya.

“The MNJTF has done a lot of work and as you have seen recently, we’ve had exchanges on this with my brother on the way ahead.”

Déby expressed optimism that with new strategies being deployed and new officers with fresh ideas being assigned to take over commands at both national and regional levels, the menace of various terror groups, including Boko Haram and the Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP), would be addressed permanently.

“With the new team of the chief of defence staff and the new commander that has been appointed at the Multinational Joint Task Force, they are convinced that we can eradicate Boko Haram,” he added.

“There’s a lot of hope on this new team, with this new strategy. I remain confident that the four armies of the four countries can finish this evil and eradicate Boko Haram once and for all.

“All the countries participating are taking responsibility. None of them is shirking their responsibilities and the military of all the countries also have that sense of responsibility of what needs to be done and what their obligation is, which is to protect all the countries.”

Earlier at the meeting with the Chadian president, Buhari had called for the recharging of Lake Chad, through the transfer of water from the Congo basin.

In a statement by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, Buhari noted that “with inter-basin water transfer, farming, fishing, animal husbandry would resume, and curtail irregular migration of youths, who now dare the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, to get into Europe, seeking greener pastures”.

He also commended Chad for its efforts in addressing insurgency.