Magnus Eze, Abuja
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has had to bear the pains of a people ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency; his state being the hotbed of the atrocities of the Islamic sect.
Recently, he spoke to some journalists after the special town hall meeting on the security situation in the north-east, held at the Government House in Maiduguri, on how the state has weathered the insurgency; the recovery and reconstruction efforts, humanitarian situation and the current challenges.
As the governor, tell us what the situation is today in Maiduguri?
I know quite a lot of you came with a lot of doubts and fear because of the negative narratives about Boko Haram insurgency and I believe you were surprised you came and saw a city burbling with life. This is a city of 3 million people. Apart from Lagos and Kano and probably, Ibadan, this is about the fourth most populous city in this country.
I want to salute the Nigerian armed forces for gallantly fighting insurgency and decimating it. Four years ago, the people of the north-east states, Borno in particular; were facing threats, 20 out of 27 local governments in Borno were under the occupation of Boko Haram, and nobody could venture out of Maiduguri beyond 10 kilometres, you are in Boko Haram territory.
I want to sincerely thank the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari for the accomplishment in the security of the north-east zone. The Nigerian military was able to accomplish in the past couple of weeks in the Sambisa forest, accomplishment that we did not experience in the past two years.
As I said before, the sporadic suicide bombing by Boko Haram is not a sign of strength from the insurgents, but it’s a sign of weakness.
The destruction of the dens of Boko Haram in Sambisa forest was made possible by an Igbo man from Mbaise, (Imo State) the current Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole; Major General Rogers Nicholas. This is what a northern soldier could not do. That is why we must begin to celebrate Nigeria as one nation. If we are united, there is nothing we cannot do.
Make no mistake; I recognise the efforts of the entire components of the Nigerian military and other security agencies for their sacrifices in the fight against Boko Haram in Borno State.
Look at our Service chiefs, like the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Air Staff and their coordinator, the National Security Adviser, they are all sons of the north-east, so you could say they have very personal interest in the stability of the north-east on the basis of their origin, as such their remarkable efforts were to be expected.
But I have to be very emotional about the efforts of our Generals from the southern part of the country, who have nothing personal with the north-east, yet have devoted themselves to securing the region. This goes to show the unity of patriotism common with the military. So, this is the point I am trying to make.
What are you doing concerning recovery and reconstruction of the areas destroyed by the insurgents?
As par the recovery and assessment of the Word Bank, conducted in partnership with the European Union and the Presidency, the destruction created for the north -east by the Boko Haram amounts to $9.6billion. Out of this, Borno State alone accounts for about $6 billion of the destruction. A total number of 958,000 units of houses destroyed, making it 30 per cent of the housing stock in the state.
About 5,600 classrooms were also destroyed, 520 primary schools and 34 secondary schools and three tertiary institutions were also destroyed. The entire ecosystem, local governments, hospitals, clinics among others were equally destroyed. But one thing I believe is that, where there is a will there is way.
The dangers that have befallen us also provided us the platform and opportunity to re-engineer our society to be a better place. And especially, for us in the north, most of us are first generation of graduates in our respective families, most of us, if not all are products of public school system. We have accomplished a lot in all sectors, be it education, housing, agriculture and industrialization.
I think we can hold our heads high now in the media and communication. But, I felt very reluctant to be celebrating the so called achievements in the midst of deaths and tragedy. Every now and then, we are having some issues in the security department.
For us, it is morally wrong to be showcasing your achievements when people are dying. That was the singular reason why, in spite of the efforts by the commissioner for Information and his team to convince me to be talking about my achievements, I said no, this is not the right time, once, peace is fully established, we can tell the world what we have done and invite the world to come and pass judgement on what we have accomplished.
It’s foolhardy for anybody to ignore the poor and expect peace. It is foolhardy for anybody in the north to delude himself that we can send our own wards to the private schools and allow the children of the poor to wallow in destitution, poverty and illiteracy and expect to reap the dividends of peace. This is why I am determined for whatever cost to upgrade the standard of education in the state to such a level that we are going to make private schooling unattractive like in Rwanda.
In Rwanda, you better send your wards to public schools than private schools. This is why you might have seen some of our schools constructed to have air condition, all the classrooms are going to have digital teaching aids; all the students will get tablets, especially the SS3 and SS2 students. If you put your heart and mind in a project, somehow, somewhere, you are going to get the means to accomplish your goals.
What plans do you have for those children who became orphans through the activities of Boko Haram?
We are building 34 mega schools that can accommodate between 1000-1200 students. And our targets are principally, the orphans of Boko Haram. We don’t want to introduce a situation where they are going to have a kind of entitlement syndrome or a sense of alienation from the community. So, we want to bring in students from the neighbourhood; mix them with the victims of Boko Haram and give them some sense of belonging.
There are some estates we are building across the state, we are going to allocate to anybody who is willing to adopt any three or four of the Boko Haram victims; we will put you on a stipend, we know things are very tough in the country, but we want the kids to grow up. We want to encourage this culture of orphanage in African set up because the burden of extended family system has been over stretched. A lot of our people are living from hand to mouth. Our people in the north are the poorest of the poor and Boko Haram came to make things worse. But we have to look beyond these challenges and come up with solutions based on our fundamental needs.
My obsession is all about education. You can call me a crazy man, so be it. I owe nobody any apology. I am crazy about education because education is the greatest game changer. Within a generation, the child of a peasant can be celebrated as an icon. It is the greatest agent of change. The world is changing. The biggest company in the world does not own shops. It is all about intellect.
What is your take on the debate for and against Nigeria’s break up?
We are talking about the real issues. It is in our best interest to make Nigeria work. Nigeria must work because in the worst case scenario, where do we go?
Nigerians are the brightest immigrants in the world. We can harness our potentials. The Yoruba are the most educated race in Africa; the Igbo are described as the African Jews, most travelled and the most educationally ambitious tribe. The most hated Hausa are the most productive nationality. The hope for the black man rests with the people of Nigeria and we are the people that can make or mar the fortunes of the black man. The media has a vital role to play in keeping the nation together more than any other actors.