Former Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof Usman Yusuf, has said claims that the nation's security woes is greatly influenced by foreign forces who want to cut the country to size, is yet another blame game by a government desperately trying to excuse it's own failings as usual.
The Nigerian army had said in a statement through its Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col Sagir Musa, following the zamarmari massacre, that there are some international paymasters sponsoring Boko Haram with the aim of cutting the country to size, and its eventual disintegration.
It said, “There is an international conspiracy to cut Nigeria to size and compromise national renegades making attempts to destabilise and dismember Nigeria if possible in subservience to the international paymasters; who are the owners of Boko Haram. They train them, arm them, finance them and supply their logistics.
“Without this treacherous international support of Boko Haram; they would have since been defeated. Yet, we can defeat them through our unity and unflinching support and encouragement of our security forces, particularly the military.”
Yusuf however, in an interview with Sunday Sun, said the bandits and Boko Haram wrecking havoc in the country are 99 percent Nigerians who from previous accounts, generate resources from within the country, to run their activities.
He said, "When they arrest these bandits, I don’t see any of them from outside Nigeria. These bandits in the forests are not even sophisticated; they are just rag tag with nothing than rusty AK 47 rifles and machetes and we are here saying they are from there, they are from here.
"About 99 per cent of Boko Haram and bandits are Nigerians. We must take responsibility and address it and stop the blame game that will not solve our problem. Let’s be serious about it and accept that we have a fundamental problem that is home grown and must be solved and stop blaming anybody but ourselves."
Asked whether advocating for self defense could lead to confusion, he replied, "No, it won’t. In the Northeast, they have what they call, Civilian JTF, which was not created by the government or the military. The youths of Borno who were tired of watching their parents, relatives massacred by Boko Haram rose and said this cannot continue.
"They organized themselves and start with nothing but sticks and chased these insurgents out of their neighbourhood and then the military and the government helped them and they have been positive in the fight against Boko Haram.
"This is not new. When I asked for community defence, we have to be real and honest that we don’t have enough soldiers, we don’t have enough policemen to police this country. I was in the US during Iraq war in 2003 when the war was getting out of hands, Sunnis, Al- Qaida were there, there was nowhere American military could be involved in all of them. What did they do?
"General David, the commander there went and sat down with the traditional leaders of Anbar Province and they made an arrangement of men of that area; Sunnis of that area and many of them that were demobilized by Sadam and they mobilised them and Americans were paying them to fight Al- Qaida and they successfully did that.
"Even in Britain during the World War 11, they created what was called Home Guard, comprising young people who were too young to be soldiers, and old people who were too old to go; they trained them, they armed them to protect the homeland.
"So, we can do it in a very controlled way taking the template of the Civilian JTF, but make sure you work it in such a way it is local. I cannot bring what works in Maiduguri to Umuahia or Lagos. That is why I say community involvement is crucial instead of coming from Abuja with their plans, sit down with the community – how can we help, what is the best way of doing it.
"Communities have answers to a lot of insecurity .The problem is local and the solution is local. We just have to listen and engage all stakeholders. This is the only way."
Speaking further, he said, "No nation anywhere in the world that can call itself secure if it doesn’t have control of its airspace, its waterways, its forests and highways.
"We don’t have control of our forests, where bandits take the people they kidnap to. We don’t have control of our highways that is why you cannot drive from Abuja to Kaduna; a 200-kilometre federal highway has become a highway to hell because bandits operate there. On waterways, you have seen how vulnerable we are during the war in the Niger Delta."