From Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
A peace scholar, Dr Jimoh Ahmed Ayinla, has cautioned the Federal Government against engaging mercenaries in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents and bandits.
Ayinla, a security expert, urged the government to weigh the consequences of inviting and relying on mercenaries in the fight against terrorism, insurgency and Boko Haram.
Speaking during an interview with reporters in Ilorin, Ayinla, who lectures at Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, warned that as a sovereign country, Nigeria’s integrity should not be compromised for any reason.
He advised the government to provide modern war equipment and better welfare packages for the members of the Nigerian Armed Forces as incentives to further motivate them to tackle the insurgents headlong
‘It is when all these are religiously carried out that the menace will be drastically reduced. Nigeria, as a sovereign nation, its integrity should not be compromised to any external forces. The government should rather provide modern war equipment and proper welfare packages to the armed forces,’ Ayinla noted.
He admonished Nigeria’s security chiefs to stop unfolding strategies to be employed in combating the menace, adding that ‘rather, urgent steps are needed in reappraising the present strategies which could not bring the required result. There is the need to map out a more effective and efficient method of fighting the Boko Haram and other related crimes in Nigeria.’
