Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday asserted that great strides had been made in the fight against Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, differing with critics lamenting a lack of progress to stop the insurgence.
Since assuming office in May, Buhari has made tackling the Boko Haram, menace his priority. He said that many of the militants were already only restricted to the remote Sambisa forest area of Borno state, Nothern Nigeria.
The president also added that most of the 2.1 million people displaced by the six yearlong violence have begun returning home.
Buhari has faced a lot of criticism for being too slow to act since taking over the presidency from Goodluck Jonathan. Most notably, senior ministerial appointments remain unfilled to date.
Hopes are high that the proposed African Union backed multi-national force comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin will crush the Islamist group allied militants.
A planned end of July deployment has however already been delayed. Deadly attacks have continued in the meantime even as the military claim a series of successes in recent weeks.
These include the recapture of Gamboru Ngala town on the Cameroon border and the arrest of a suspected top Boko Haram commander.
President Buhari, on August 13, gave his newly appointed military top brass three months to crush the Jihadists.
His Ghanian counterpart John Dramani Mahama commended the Nigerian president for his work in incorporating neighbouring countries into the counter-insurgency, despite often strained ties with Abuja.
