Borno Leaders Using Boko Haram To Loot Public Funds – Bolori Reveals

Kaka-Bolori

Mallam Kaka Bolori, a candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the Borno Central Senatorial election slated for later this year believes some leaders in Borno State may not want Boko Haram insurgency to end anytime soon due to the platform for looting that it presents.

“I think it is possible for people not to want the war to end because insurgency itself provides another form of looting by government officials from federal to state and local government levels. I am not therefore surprised if some people are aiding and abetting insurgency for selfish reasons,” Bolori told Vanguard in an interview.

“And if proper check is done, such persons are likely to be found in the hierarchy of the leadership of the state and the local governments.

“I am saying so because of what is happening in Borno State. We have 27 local government areas and only a few of them are functioning even though all of them receive their allocations at the end of the month.

“The rest of them simply sit down in Maiduguri and share the allocation on the claim that they cannot go to do anything in their respective areas because of insurgency. So, it is a way of making quick money by some in the state. That is why Boko Haram has provided a means of looting for government officials in many of these states,” he said.

Bolori also blamed the state government for not showing commitment to education, lack of which he noted has fueled terrorism in the Northeast.

“It is not about the Boko Haram saying they don’t want Western Education; the body language of the government also suggests that they are not encouraging education the way it should be. I am telling you that we have some local government areas that don’t have senior secondary school and if there is a law compelling them to establish one in each LGA that would go a long way to assist in elevating education in the state.

“Ending Boko Haram requires a holistic approach. We must find an answer to what caused Boko Haram in the first place while the military option continues. Boko Haram came about as a result of the absence of basic education and opportunities for many, who felt they were entitled to those things. Nobody with a proper Islamic education will engage in Boko Haram activities.

“We, therefore need some real orientation from all tiers of government in finding solutions to the problem of Boko Haram. Injustice is part of the problem. For many years here, no local government elections in Borno because the government prefers to handpick caretaker committees and those denied their civil opportunities are sad.

“The reason the insurgency is too strong in the Northeast is largely due to poor administration and injustice on the part of the government in those places particularly Borno and Yobe.

“What the governors of the Northeast are getting from the Federation Account is not commensurate with the development we have on the ground in those states. They get so much but deliver very little. That is the crux of the problem.

“It is only in a place like Maiduguri that you will see a 4-km road taking more than N11 billion and such a road will never be completed in more than four years. One will wonder if it is silver or gold road that they are building,” Bolori said.

However, he noted that the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari has brought hope of an end to insurgency in the region, stressing, “already, relative peace has returned to the area”.

“The military is winning the war after recapturing most of the areas that were under the control of the insurgents in the Northeast.”