Why Boko Haram Thrives In Borno, By Ex Governor Ali Modu Sheriff

Two time governor of Borno state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has attributed the continued thriving of the deadly Boko Haram to the open borders of the state and the fact that it has the biggest land mass bordering Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Borno, he added, is not like the Republic of Benin with only one entrance into Nigeria.
The former governor who spoke to state House correspondents shortly after a private visit to President Goodluck Jonatha at the Presidential Villa today, made it clear that one can enter the state from 20 different points.
“Therefore, you need a perfect understanding of the terrain. You need every knowledge that any politician has, particularly any politician that operated in Borno state.”
He said that he is not a security man or personnel but that whatever he can do as a civilian, using his position as the chief executive of the state for eight years, he would continue to do it.
“What I have seen during my tenure I will contribute to the security agencies through whom I got those information.  “What you have to understand is that this country is a big country and Borno state is a difficult state from any other state in Nigeria.”
On why he had come to see the President said that just like every Nigerian has the right to see the President, he too exercised such right and was in the Villa to see the President  o a personnel ground.
“I did not come to discuss PDP with Mr. President. That is not what brought me. Yes, there is this issue that I might join the PDP but that was not the discussion that brought me to the President.
“You see, Nigeria is a very interesting country and people like us, who the nation has done everything for, either as individuals or collectively. By the Grace of God, in Borno state, I have been made Governor twice which is the maximum any one can get in terms of the limits imposed by the Constitution. I was elected into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria thrice. This means that in every aspect of life, I am one of the stakeholders in Nigeria because if by the help of God, the people of Nigeria had placed me in that position at every time, my interest now should be on how to move the nation forward. Our interest should be on what makes that nation move forward. My decisions will be guided by the interest of the nation first. My thinking of moving to the PDP is also in the interest of the nation. We believe that every time, as a leader who lead people, you should advise them on the right course of action. [myad]