Northern governors have appealed to past Nigerian leaders of northern extraction to come to help them subdue the menace of insurgency being perpetrated by the Boko-Haram sect that has inflicted huge socio-economic damages on the region.

This is as Jos, the Plateau State capital, was hit by another bomb blast on Saturday night.

The governors, represented by Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Niger State, Muázu Babangida Aliyu, during the maiden convocation ceremony of the state owned, Ibrahim Badamasi University, (IBBU) Lapai, Niger state on Saturday, lamented the continued killing and maiming of innocent lives in that part of the country.

Aliyu said the North would be looking forward to former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida, Abubakar Abdulsalami, and others that served as military presidents in the country to rally past leaders to help in tackling Boko-Haram, especially now that it is beginning to look like there is no-end-in sight to the continued carnage being caused by the Islamic extremist group.

“I am calling on General Abdulsalami Abubakar to invite other Nigerian leaders like; General Danjuma, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, General Ibrahim Babangida, to come together and help the Northern State Governors end the scourge of Boko Haram in the next 3 months”, he said.

The call is coming at a time Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh and former Chief of Army Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai, have expressed divergent views on the country’s ability to tame the war against Boko Harm.

While Badeh maintains that the Nigerian Army was not overwhelmed by activities of the insurgents and winning the war, Agwai is of the view that the Nigerian Army may not win the war unless other political, social and economic factors are first addressed.

At the public launch of a book entitled, ‘Integrity Matters: Men of Honour in the Public Square’, written by the Dean, Graduate School, ECWA Theological Seminary, Jos, Agwai, was quoted as saying; “You can never solve any of these problems with military solutions.

“The military can always be an enabling force. They will sensitise; they will stabilise the area. It is a political issue; it is a social issue; it is an economic issue, and until these issues are addressed, the military can never give you a solution.

“So, to say the military has failed or is overwhelmed or has not failed is incorrect. But I will say that if anybody expects the military to give him a solution to this problem, it will be difficult, since it is not a military problem, it is not a war. You are not fighting another country invading Nigeria. So, you cannot get a military solution to that.”

However, Aliyu said he is optimistic that security challenges bedeviling northern states can be crushed within the shortest possible time if past Nigerian leaders will step in with a view to calling the group to order.

“I believe there is the possibility that in the next three months with concerted efforts from prominent Nigerians, the horrendous situation in the north which has attracted bad publicity to the region will be a thing of the past”.

Meanwhile, the CDS has maintained that the Nigerian Army is indeed winning the war against the insurgency, attributing the attacks on soft targets by the sect as an indication that its members are being smoked out of their base and only reacting to intimidate the Army.

He therefore argued that the fact that the Nigerian Army is yet to bring the Boko Haram insurgency to an end does not mean that they are being overwhelmed by it.

“We will continue to do what we are doing. We will continue to live our lives. Terror will not succeed. We will eventually overcome.”

Reports have disclosed that the war against insurgency in Nigeria is being challenged by inadequate funds, corruption, difficult terrain, the need to abide with rule of engagement, especially international humanitarian laws as well as the fact that members of the sect are part of the community.

Meanwhile, Jos, the Plateau State capital, was hit by another bomb blast on Saturday night.

The blast, which occurred near a popular soccer viewing centre on Bauchi Road, which is less than 50 metres away from the Red Cross Office in the city, occurred at a time scores of people were gathered to watch the finals of the Champions League, made it the third in a week.

Sunday Independent learnt from residents of the city that the affected viewing centre, which is a few metres from the Senior Staff quarters of the University of Jos and the Bauchi motor park, accommodates not less than 200 football lovers on a day like yesterday.

Although there were no official information on the casualty as at the time of filing this report, it is believed that the only casualty is the suicide bomber, as the device exploded before he could enter the centre.

A medical doctor with the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), who confirmed the report to Sunday Independent said, “Emergency personnel were being deployed almost immediately.” SOURCE: Dailyindependentnig