JUST IN: Why We Claim To Have Defeated Boko Haram – Lai Mohammed

Nigeria’s minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed has defended the claim by the Buhari-led government that the insurgent Boko Haram is defeated in Nigeria.

On different occasions, the Federal Government have boasted to have either ‘technically defeated’ Boko Haram or ‘destabilized’. Although some activities from both the terrorists and the subsequent response of the government proved otherwise sometimes.

Comparing the immediate past government of Former President Goodluck Jonathan with the current government, the information minister noted that Boko Haram’s insurgencies have been drastically reduced as they no longer have such effrontery to act like before.

He made this assertion to journalists after a tour of major media houses in the US.

According to report gathered, Lai Mohammed had toured offices of CNN, New York Times, Voice of America, Washington Post, Washington Times; Al Jazeera, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, and the Atlantic Council and the Foreign Relations Council.

“The important thing is that we made them understand that the unfortunate incident of kidnap of the Dapchi schoolgirls and the recent suicide bombings are not reflective of actually the success of the government in fighting Boko Harm,” he said.

“When the government says Boko Haram is defeated, it is from the context of what it was when it came in and what we are today. People have forgotten that less than three or four years ago, people in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, could not sleep with their two eyes closed.

“That four years ago, the insurgents used to stroll into Abuja at will and no building was sacred to them. I mean they were so bold they attacked the force headquarters.

“They attacked the UN headquarters, they attacked newspapers head office, Nyanya Motor Park, was attacked twice and states and towns like Suleja, Kano, Sokoto, Kogi, Borno, were game for them. So, when we say we have defeated Boko Haram, it is precisely what we mean. Today, night life has returned to Maiduguri, weekly football leagues are being played in Maiduguri, schools have been reopened, roads have been reopened.

“It was a far cry from when we went in 2015 because between Bama and Maiduguri where we went to, there was no singular vehicle on the road”, Mohammed mentioned.