According to Abubakar El-Kanemi, the Shehu of Borno, Westerners looking to study the Quran brought Boko Haram insurgents into the nation’s northeast.
The traditional chief highlighted that the area has suffered at the hands of the rebels in all aspects of life during a town hall meeting held by the Yateem Faqeer Global Foundation on Thursday in Abuja.
Borno has seen a lot of things, both good and horrible, he said. Boko Haram is a useless, senseless, and aimless organization since neither the Bible nor the Quran contain passages that encourage disregard for others or the burning and destruction of their possessions. And I want everyone to know that no one from the Northeast Zone ever founded or launched Boko Haram. They just came across it and brought it to us.
He thought that many people were unaware of the insurgents’ corrupt philosophy, which was fostered in the minds of the youth and caused chaos throughout the nation.
The previous chief of army staff, general Alwali Kazir (retired), insisted that there were evident ideological distinctions between the bandits and other armed criminal groups operating in various regions of the country and Boko Haram militants in the North East.
To preserve the country’s continued peace, he suggested both kinetic and non-kinetic responses to insecurity.
A 15-year regional policy and strategy to rebuild and develop the North East region in the post-Boko Haram era is being developed, according to Dr. Umar Bindir, National Coordinator, National Social Investment Programme, NSIP, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, for the restoration of all regions of the nation.
