Nigeria, Chad renew fight against Boko Haram as Buhari demands more action on Multi-National Task Force

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chadian counterpart, President Idriss Deby, on Thursday in N’Djamena, Chad, reaffirmed the commitment of their countries to greater cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram.
This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of Buhari’s one-day official visit to Chad.
In it, both leaders agreed on the need to quickly make the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) fully operational, to effectively combat terrorism in the North-East, Nigeria and “everywhere” that Boko Haram operates.
Buhari and Deby called on the international community to provide the Lake Chad Basin Commission and neigbouring countries with all necessary support to combat terrorism and insurgency.
“Both Heads of State agreed that the war on Boko Haram should be supported by emergency development initiatives in areas affected by this insurgency group.
“This will help to overcome the harmful effects faced by local populations,’’ the communiqué said.
Buhari paid tribute to the gallantry of Chadian soldiers engaged in operations against Boko Haram and condoled the families of their comrades killed in active service.
While in the Chadian capital, Buhari also held a closed-door meeting with Major-General Tukur Buratai of Nigeria, who was recently appointed Force Commander of the MNJTF, with headquarters in N’Djamena.
Meanwhile, Buhari has urged member-countries of the Lake Chad Commission to redouble their efforts to intensify the operations of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) established to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency.
Speaking at bilateral talks between Nigeria and Chad, Buhari noted that the security of Nigeria and her neighbours’ were intrinsically linked.
He added that it made it very essential that they cooperated on security issues in a robust and sustained manner.
The President said that he was quite certain that when fully deployed and functional, the MNJTF, which comprises Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, would be able to secure and stabilise all the areas affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Buhari also reaffirmed his conviction that with greater cooperation amongst Nigeria and neighbouring countries, the Boko Haram insurgency would be brought to an end very soon.
His remarks came on the heels of Wednesday’s appointment of Major-General Tukur Buratai of Nigeria as the Force Commander of the reorganised MNJTF, which also has Benin Republic as honorary member.
The President thanked Chad for its invaluable support in the fight against insurgency and terrorism.
“Your troops have stood shoulder –to-shoulder and fought gallantly with ours in the fight against the forces of evil.
“This is a remarkable show of good neighbourliness, which we must reinforce in the years ahead,’’ he told President Idriss Deby.
Buhari, who is on his first visit to Chad, after assuming office as President of Nigeria, expressed concern that insurgency had taken a huge toll on citizens of both countries, many of whom were forced to flee their homes.
The President said that the harrowing images of displaced citizens of both countries, in search of safety and succour, must spur their governments and others in the sub-region to do more “to restore their dignity and give them the relief they need”.
On the bilateral relations between Nigeria and Chad, Buhari noted that both countries were bound by “nature’’.
He added that they must therefore work together to find lasting solutions to issues of border management, migration and movement of goods and services.
Buhari thanked President Deby for attending his inauguration on May 29 in Abuja, noting that he would return to Nigeria with the assurance that Nigeria and Chad were poised to intensify their cooperation.
In his remarks, Deby commended Buhari for his “wise decision’’ to relocate the Nigerian Military Command Centre from Abuja to Maiduguri.
The Chadian President said that the decision, which was announced in President Buhari’s inaugural address, was a right step toward restoring peace and security to states affected by terrorism and the sub-region.
He assured Buhari that Chad would continue to work with Nigeria to achieve lasting peace and security in the sub-region, given their historic, cultural and economic ties.