TheCable

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the military has met the December deadline of stamping out activities of the Boko Haram sect, saying the group members are now “sick and hungry”.

Speaking during an interactive session with newspaper editors in Lagos on Wednesday, Mohammed solicited the support of the media in the fight against insurgency.

He asked the editors to “act in national interest” and not maintain neutrality when the country is “at war”.

Mohammed said laying emphasis on the “propaganda” of Boko Haram would make the sect gain relevance, asking newspapers to reduce the attention given to the group.

”Gentlemen, in this time of war, you cannot afford to be neutral. Yes, you must remain professional at all times, and we are not asking you to do anything less, but you must also act in the national interest always,” he said.

”Acting in the national interest means not playing up the reports of the cowardly Boko Haram attacks on soft targets. Acting in the national interest means not regurgitating the propaganda of Boko Haram and its fellow terrorist group, ISIS.

“Acting in the national interest means extolling the bravery and sacrifice of our gallant troops. Acting in the national interest means not viewing the war from a partisan prism. Acting in the national interest means rallying all Nigerians, irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic background, to support the war.”

”They (military) have so degraded the capability of Boko Haram that the terrorist, can no longer carry out any spectacular attacks. Remember, gentlemen, that at the height of the war, Boko Haram controlled 20 of the 27 local governments in Borno.

“The insurgents are hungry, they are sick and they are desparate and will clutch at any straw. Don’t let us prop them up with our reports.

”I can hear you saying to yourself: but the terrorists are still carrying out suicide bombings and killing people. My response to that is that such is the nature of insurgency anywhere.

“Unlike a war between two armies, an insurgency never ends with an armistice. Even in countries like Colombia where insurgency was supposed to have ended decades ago, attacks still happen.”

Mohammed dismissed a recent report saying Boko Haram still commands influence in some parts of the country, describing it as an approach to discredit the military.

”A report in that regard was widely published in our newspapers a few days ago. This is not true. Boko Haram is dispersed and largely defeated,” he said.

”In the days ahead, they will release propaganda videos through their usual channels, we must not give them any play because it is nothing but a hoax.

”Gentlemen, we need peace before we can even practice our professions. We need peace before we can meaningfully revive our economy. We need peace for our democracy to thrive. Boko Haram is the very antithesis of peace. Boko Haram must be wiped out not just through military might but with the support and efforts of all of us.”