Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is planning to continue strengthen a regional fighting force against Boko Haram insurgency by travelling to one more neighbouring country.
Buhari visited Niger and Chad in his first week in office. The president held talks with Chad’s president Idris Deby to consolidate on the achievements recorded so far in the war against Boko Haram and open more channels for collaboration between both countries.
Nigeria’s leader has also met with Mahamadou Issoufou, his Niger’s counterpart.
During the G7 summit Buhari presented the “wish list” of Nigeria to the countries with the special reference on countering terrorism.
Cameroon’s leader Paul Biya was noticeably absent at a summit in Abuja last week and represented by his defence minister.
“But on my return to Nigeria now, I will try to go to Cameroon,” President Buhari said on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Johannesburg.
The current MNJTF came into being after Deby sent troops to help their Cameroonian counterparts against a wave of attacks by the terrorists.
Armies of Niger and Chad have crossed into Nigerian territory but those from Cameroon have not in an sign of the tense relations between the neighbours.
But Buhari specified last Thursday that soldiers from the new force would not be limited in terms of movement.
The MNJTF will be presided over by a Nigerian officer for the duration of the mission, with his deputy from Cameroon for an first 12 months once troops are deployed from July 30.
“The most important support is intelligence. What we are looking for from the G7… is intelligence. We want help in terms of logistics,” the Nigerian president, who made the fight against Boko Haram his prority said.
“Boko Haram declared that they are in alliance with ISIS, so terrorism has gone international. They are in Mali, they are in Nigeria, they are in Syria, they are in Iraq, they are in Yemen… It’s an international problem now,” he said.
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