Abuja – The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, says hopelessness is partly responsible for acts of terrorism being perpetrated by the Boko Haram insurgents in the North East.
Badeh made the remark in Abuja on Friday while receiving 3,000 books donated to military libraries by the “Support Our Troops Foundation.’’
“What has happened with Boko Haram is a kind of revolution driven by hopelessness.
“I like to call it hopelessness. That is why they went the way they have gone because I cannot see why you should chose to die rather than to live.
“It is a kind of hopelessness. Very soon, we will overcome all the major problems happening in the North East.’’ Badeh emphasised.
The chief of defence staff, however, said that the issue of criminality would be there but assured that it would also be addressed.
“You live with insurgency once it starts in a country, It happens in every country. It is domestic terrorism.
“All these things happened because of poverty of the mind, poverty of education, poverty of the pocket, all manner of poverty and diseases. And it is like people feel life is not worth it’’, he said.
Badeh advised elected leaders, especially those at the grassroots, to focus attention on how to improve the lot of the people “otherwise the people will revolt against you.’’
He commended the foundation for the donation and called on Nigerians to continue to support the military to overcome the challenge of insurgency in the North East.
“Nigeria is saved when the troops are motivated, when they are urged on and supported to do their work.
“Nigerian troops are very brave soldiers; we have shown it all over the world’’, he added.
Earlier, Mrs Funmi Ogbue, Founder and Chief Executive of the foundation, urged Nigerians to desist from campaign against the military but encourage them to defeat the insurgents.
Ogbue said successes recorded by troops in the last one month showed that they could do more if encouraged and promised that the foundation would do more to encourage them.
“We will not stop here. We have plans to execute other activities in furtherance of our commitment to the armed forces and their families’’, she said.
Ogbue said the foundation would build recreation centres in military barracks for the welfare of officers and grant loans to their wives and widows of deceased personnel.
She also promised to donate desert camouflage shirts, medical supplies, as well as build monument in honour of the armed forces. (NAN)
Marshal Alex Badeh
