Buhari: $1Bn spent to recover Territories under Boko Haram, Blames Lingering Conflicts on Regional Wars

President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that his administration has spent $1 Bn since 2015 in a bid to recovering territories under the sieged of Boko Haram.

Despite the humongous amount spent to reclaim Boko Haram-held territories in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, Nigeria’s security is faced with instability owing to violent conflict in Central Republic and Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

President Buhari | Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Speaking at the reception of the ‘Award for Strengthening Peace in Africa’ conferred on him by the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum in Nouakchott, Mauritania, Mr Buhari disclosed the extent to which the war against Boko Haram has been fought.

He said “Although we are winning the war, however, as a country and sub-region, we continue to be negatively impacted by events in Libya, the Central Africa Republic, The Sahel and the war in Ukraine”

The proliferation of small and light weapons and the free circulation of such as well as the non-inclusion of African youths in the discussion of issues of concern to them have been implicated as factors for youth restiveness. He urged on leaders in Africa to place premium on youth development to discourage idleness.

The President said, “When I assumed power in 2015, Boko Harma held about two-thirds of Borno State, half of Yobe State, and a couple of local government areas in Adamawa State, all in the North-East of Nigeria.

“We have been able to retrieve these swathes of territories by investing over $1bn to acquire hard and software weaponry from the US and other friendly countries to carry out sustained operations against insurgency since 2015

“Our Armed Forces and those of our partners in the Multinational Joint Task Force (consisting of Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Benin Republic and Nigeria) continue to demonstrate great bravery while paying the ultimate price in securing our collective freedom.

“Despite the difficult times we face, we continue to spend very scare and lean resources to ensure that we have a well-resourced military force to take on this task. Ideally, these are resources that could be spent on education, healthcare, infrastructure and other social services, but without peace, we have learnt the hard way that our children cannot go to school or seek good healthcare,” the President stated.