CP | Samuel Smith | February 5, 2020
The governor of the Boko Haram-infected Borno state in northeast Nigeria has reportedly revealed that the extremist group is responsible for making tens of thousands of widows and orphans in the state as it continues its reign of terror.
Borno Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum served last week as a guest lecturer at the National Defence College in Abuja. He spoke about his new white paper “Strategic leadership: The challenges of Insurgency in Borno State.”
The lecture was attended by senior military officers and policymakers from inside and outside Nigeria, according to independent online newspaper The Cable.
Zulum, a college professor who was elected last year as Borno’s governor, did not mince words as he criticized ineffective government leadership for its inadequate response to the insurgency that continues to wreak havoc in his state.
Boko Haram, which began in 2002, has killed and abducted thousands across the Lake Chad region in recent years and has developed a reputation as one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups.
Zulum provided a glimpse into how Boko Haram’s violence has impacted over 100,000 people.
According to the Daily Post newspaper, Zulum said Boko Haram is responsible for the creation of 59,311 orphans and 59,123 widows throughout its existence.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari has claimed to have defeated Boko Haram, the group — which has splintered into two different cells — continues to murder and kidnap.