Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says though the armed forces have effectively contained the territorial ambitions of the Boko Haram terrorists by substantially degrading their capacity to attack and wreak havoc, the sect remains intent on shedding blood and sowing fear.
According to the vice president, “There is also the threat of the Islamic State of West Africa Province ISWAP in the Lake Chad Islands and parts of Southern Borno.”
He spoke yesterday as the reviewing officer at the passing-out-parade of 187 Direct Short Service cadets of Course 28/2019 at the Nigerian Air Force Military Training Centre, Kaduna.
“Also, more often, these days, these insurgents are focusing on soft targets, opportunistic attacks on isolated military units as well as on increasingly sophisticated propaganda aimed at making them out to be more organized and lethal than they really are,” Osinbajo said.
He said disunity could undermine present and future efforts towards creating a secured country, urging Nigerians to disregard all those preaching narratives of divisions along ethnic and religious lines.
He said: “We must resist all who try to destroy our present gains and in particular our future. The future of our country is bright; all we need to do is to keep focused not to allow anyone to preach any division amongst us. If we remain stable and united, everything that we desire for our great country will be ours.”
He noted that the graduating cadets were passing out at a time the nation was grappling with insurgency in the northeast as well as kidnapping and armed banditry in other parts of the country.
“You will therefore have come to terms with the fact that the days and weeks and months ahead of you will be extremely busy, as you fulfil your responsibilities to the military and the nation,” he said.
“But to do so effectively also means that you must take the time and trouble to fully understand the nature of the threats that confront us, the narratives and philosophies that underlie those threats”.
He said President Muhammadu Buhair, in collaboration with state governors, had been reviewing the security architecture of the country.
