Ex Borno State governor Ali Modu Sheriff made serious disclosures about Boko Haram sect and said who can help with security situation in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that Senator Sheriff was in the center of the scandal that was started this year by Australian negotiator Stephen Davis, who named the politician as one of Boko Haram sponsors.
Earlier this week, however, the news broke out that Sheriff had been fully cleared, with the Nigerian Secret Service saying that Davis and his associates were fraudsters aimed at discrediting Nigeria’s authorities.
According to Leadership, Sheriff spoke Sunday, December 21, with BBC Hausa in Abuja narrating all he new about the dreaded sect.
The former governor of the state, badly affected by insurgency, denied reports saying that Boko Haram started during his tenure (2003-2011). According to him, the sect actually started in Yobe State in 1992 and he tried to solve the problem by different means.
“This is not true. The Boko Haram issue did not start during my tenure. If you don’t know, let me educate you today. Boko Haram started in 1992 at Kalama in Yobe State, and at that time, I was not a governor. So, if anybody tells you it started during my tenure, he may be part of my traducers. But the truth is that it didn’t start during my tenure.”
The senator stressed that Chad could possibly help Nigeria with solving the insurgency problem, however he kept mute on how it could be achieved.
“Nothing preoccupies my mind in Nigeria presently like the return of peace in Borno. When Borno State was peaceful, there was no place I cherished to stay in the world like Maiduguri. I, my friends, my confidants, my parents and all the schools I attended are in Maiduguri.
“Therefore, I am more concerned than anybody in this country, because what Borno State did for me has not been done to any other indigene. You know, in Borno State, a governor has never been re-elected apart from me; in Borno State, no senator has ever been elected thrice apart from me. So, Borno people have done everything for me, and there is no one in this world that I know other than Chad, which I think could help Borno.”
Reacting to the “Boko Haram sponsor” saga, Sheriff expressed confidence that it had been an orchestrated plot by Borno tops to defame his character.
“They defamed my character, and when they started it, I once told journalists that it was plotted in Maiduguri. We know the plotters, their motives, and that by the grace of God, the truth will prevail; and now, the arrested impostors have said it all to the world.”
It would be recalled that the Federal Government and Boko Haram were reported to have concluded a ceasefire agreement October 17 in Chad. The deal later turned out to be fake as it was followed by numerous attacks and kidnaps by the sect.
President Goodluck Jonathan visited Chad twice earlier this year in order to find a lasting solution. However, GEJ came under attacks after Sheriff, at that time alleged Boko Haram sponsor, had been spotted at the high-level meeting with him and Chadian president Idriss Derby.
Meanwhile Isa Gusau, the spokesman of Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, responded to Sheriff’s claims that the state authorities wanted to tarnish his image.
“Governor Kashim Shettima has nothing to gain from the allegation against Ali Sheriff. In fact, to him, it is even shameful that a Borno State indigene, whom the governor has interacted or is connected with, is linked to what is happening. So, Governor Shettima’s connection with this saga is unnecessary.”
Boko Haram have recently intensified their attacks in the North-East of the country. The sect members reportedly killed 32 people and abducted 185 women and children in Gumsuri on December 14. The authorities are yet to officially confirm the abduction.
