Boko Haram insurgents
The representative of Hawul and Askira-Uba in the House of Representatives, Hon. Jubrin Satumari, has raised the alarm that many towns and villages in the North-east are susceptible to attacks by Boko Haram insurgents as the military presence was highly concentrated in major towns with little protection for distant and remote communities in the troubled region.
The lawmaker while condemning the growing renewed attacks on the terrorist which has sent fears to the spine of many, with increased suicide bombing and guerrilla warfare tactics that has claimed hundreds of lives and property worth billions of naira since the May 29 inauguration of President Muhammedu Buhari, said the military needed to up the ante and confront the insurgents.
He said it was unfortunate that in many remote communities in Askira-Uba and Hawul federal constituency, as well as other areas, people have sleepless nights as they do not have any military presence in their area.
He lamented that: “there is no security presence in most of the affected villages and
communities in my constituency.”
He decried the instances of some communities
in Askira – Uba and Hawul local government areas under his constituency, where some suspected group of terrorists on Friday July 2, 2015, invaded Mussa ‘B’ village and killed 29 helpless residents and inflicted injuries on several others.
Satumari, while condemning the recent attacks and suicide bombings in some parts of the state and the country in general during the holy month of Ramadan, called on the security operatives to be committed in the fight against terrorists in the state.
He said the Ramadan Kareem/Fasting by muslim Ummah was suppose to be the period for prayers and supplication to God Almighty for forgiveness of mankind’s sins and for the progress of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari but the terrorists have brought sadness and pains to many homes.
“I want to use this opportunity to condemn the renewed onslaught against innocent Nigerians by the Boko Haram sect especially during the holy month of Ramadan. I urge all Nigerians especially the religious faithful to pray to God to continue to save the country from all forms of calamity,” the lawmaker told journalists.
He however expressed optimism that the leadership of President Buhari would bring an end to the Boko Haram insurgency, insisting that “Boko Haram is not invincible and I have no doubt that the present administration led by President Buhari possesses the requisite political will and determination to decisively fight the terrorists and restore security to affected areas.”
Meanwhile, Muslim faithful across the country have been asked to donate their zakat, an obligatory Muslim donation to the poor and needy, to over a million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-east.
Speaking in Maiduguri during the donation of food and non-food items valued at about N9 million to IDPs’ camps in Borno and Yobe States, the Director of the International Centre for Islamic Culture and Education (ICICE)- Annuur Mosque Abuja, Mallam Mele Kyari, and President of 1 Ummah Islamic Organisation also based in Abuja, Mallam Abubakar Sadiq Muhammad, said if Muslim faithful all over the country can donate part of their zakat to the people of the North-east displaced from their homes, then smiles would be brought to thousands of weeping faces.
Muhammad, who lamented that the situation at the IDP camps which are populated with over 60 per cent underage children that have lost their parents to the Boko Haram crisis, called for urgent attention from well meaning
Nigerians “if the rest of us want to leave to enjoy ourselves in the country,” added that the federal government as well as international donor agencies cannot be left alone to give aids to the distressed people of the North-east.
He said: “One of the things we are encouraging is to call on the entire nation especially the Muslim Ummah which should know that part of the pillars of our religion is giving the zakat, if we can take out of this to help these people it will go a very long way.”
He lamented that “a lot of Muslims do not give out their zakat today or they do give their zakat but not in the right way. If they can give their zakat to the internally displaced persons here, it will go a long way to ameliorate some of the sufferings we are seeing in some of these camps here.”
On his part, Mallam Mele Kyari, said the visits to many registered and unregistered camps in both Borno and Yobe States have opened their eyes to the pathetic situation of the region brought about by the Boko Haram crisis and the need for the entire country to urgently do something about the situation.
He said: “We have several children who have lost their parents to this crisis and if everyone of us do not do something urgently to solve this crisis and find something for these children, then we may have a worse crisis than Boko Haram insurgency in years to come.”
He argued that the Boko Haram crisis goes beyond the North-east, stating that the crisis was a national and West African sub-regional crisis which if not handled well might take a dangerous dimension in the near future.
