A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has said nobody can predict when the current insurgency ravaging the North-East geo-political zone of the country will end.
Gowon said this while reacting to the deadline given to the military by the Presidency to ensure that the Boko Haram menace ended by the end of the year. He said the insurgents had resorted to using underage children as suicide bombers.
The ex-military leader said this in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Tuesday, when he led a team of officials of the Roll Back Malaria and four other neglected tropical diseases on an advocacy visit to Governor Dave Umahi.
According to him, the Nigerian military will do its best to meet the December deadline “but nobody can really and confidently talk about the particular time any military operation is going to end.”
“May the spirits of these poor little children who are being brainwashed to carry out such heinous crimes rest in peace.
“I can tell you this; nobody can really talk about when any particular operation is going to end, and as a Commander-in-chief, I know this.
“Yes, you can say you target a particular time, but it may finish before that time or it may go slightly beyond. To end it, that is the most important thing.
“I assure you that I have absolute confidence in our military that they are going to really deal with the situation as they are doing at the moment.”
Gowon, who appreciated the successes recorded by the past administration in the fight against Boko Haram, noted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration since it came on board had been doing a lot to wipe out the insurgents.
He urged Nigerians to pray fervently, saying “prayer is an alternative and the most effective weapon to defeat Boko Haram.
“With prayers, God will touch their hearts to change for the better,” he said.
The former Head of State appealed to Nigerians to have confidence in the military, as that was the only way to encourage them.
He said efforts should be made to check and control the breeding of mosquitoes in Ebonyi State especially in the rural areas, as people in these areas were more vulnerable to malaria due to non-provision of basic health facilities among others.
