Ndoma Egba
Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
The Senate Leader, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, has called for a change of strategy in dealing with the national security challenges posed by the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram group.
Ndoma-Egba’s made the call in Calabar while reacting to the death of hundreds of Nigerians in attacks attributable to the group in recent weeks in Nigeria.
According to Ndoma-Egba adopting the doctrine of “hot pursuit” by taking the fight across Nigeria’s borders to the neighbouring countries where the sect has many of its camps would not be out of place.
He said that such measures would rather help in stopping the menace of the Islamists sect, especially in Nigeria’s North East region.
The Boko Haram sect Saturday exploded bombs in Maiduguri, killing at least 50 people and no fewer than 39 persons in a village along Potiskum-Maiduguri Road.
Ndoma-Egba also told journalists in Calabar that “the information that is in the public domain is that they strike and cross our borders into neighbouring countries’’.
“Now, there is what is called hot pursuit in International Law, it is an option that Nigeria must begin to consider if it cannot reach some diplomatic arrangements with our neighbours.
“Then we must exercise the right of Hot Pursuit and pursue them into another sovereign territory”, he advised.
He, however, said that diplomatic action was still necessary as Nigeria needs to talk to its neighbours to help in ridding their territories of the Boko Haram members and sympathisers.
He said that criticisms of President Goodluck Jonathon administration’s attitude to the Boko Haram insurgency should not be approached from the position of partisanship.
He said that rather than being nationalistic, the response especially from the opposition is partisan, a situation he said is not good for the wellbeing of Nigeria.
The senate Leader said that everybody must drop the garb of partisanship and speak with one voice because it is a security situation that requires the participation of every Nigerian to resolve.
He said the situation is not for the security forces alone to tackle because every strata of the society from the community, local government, state government and the federal government have roles to play in combating the Boko Haram scourge.
“These Boko Haram elements, they drive through communities, don’t people see them. People see them. Don’t those people have a responsibility to alert others?
“But what I see now is that everybody is now detaching himself or herself from the situation and making it appear as if it is one man’s problem. It cannot be. Security is everybody’s problem. Security is not an issue that should be allowed just to the security forces,’’ Ndoma-Egba said.
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