Like the opposition NPN did in 1983, in the build up to the 2015 electioneering, the PDP, which is the major opposition party in the state since 1999, rallied most Borno elites together and impressed it on them to see reason to kick out the APC’s government in the state, and support the PDP so that the party could form government at the state level. Therefore, any time election was approaching, the need for Borno to be brought into the mainstream politics was usually the campaign thrust of the opposition party in the state. Historically, Borno State has never been in the same party with the government at the centre.

He began thanking the president as early as June 2015, apparently judging from what he got under the immediate past administration at the centre. This gesture, it would appear has helped in no small measure to boost the morale of the Nigerian soldiers and brought out the real fighting spirit for which they are known for the world over.Īnd in a matter of months, Nigerians, especially those in the north-east and in Borno in particular, began feeling the impact of the reinvigorated Nigerian army in its fight against Boko Haram insurgents, to the extent that all the councils hitherto under the control of the insurgents were liberated by the army.Īs at the last count, some displaced Nigerians, especially in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States have began returning to their communities.īorno governor, Kashim Shettima, did not spend one year under the Buhari’s administration before showing him gratitude for bringing succour to the people of the state.

Instead, he spends the festivities in the battle fields with officers and men of the army in the war front. So far, since coming on board as the Chief of Army Staff, Buratai is yet to spend any Sallah festivity in the comfort of his private home with his family members. That was in July 2015.”Īnd to underscore the seriousness of the operation, the army did not only take the battle to the insurgents, Buratai and the Theatre Commanders, firstly Major-General Hassan Umaru and subsequently Major – General Leo Irabor at the time, began leading the operations themselves, as against the previous practice where top military brass remained in Abuja to dish out orders, without properly equipping the soldiers on the field, let alone being on ground to lead operations. General Tukur Buratai as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) by President Muhammadu Buhari, he renamed it, “Operation Lafiya Dole, meaning, Peace at all Cost.

Boko haram insurgency