OIC to partner with Borno govt. on terrorism
The Secretary-General of the group, Mr Iyad Amin-Madani, made the pledge during a courtesy visit to the state governor, Kashim Shettima in Maiduguri.
Amin-Madani said the visit was to commiserate with the the government and people of the state over the numerous destruction of lives and property due to the insurgency.
He added that the fight against terrorism required multi-dimensional approach ‘and the OIC is here on a solidarity visit’.
“We are ready and available to prove this solidarity beyond words and emotions. We have officially described the Boko Haram as a terrorists group and we believe that conflict of this nature needs to have a wide range of solutions.
“We must find out what keeps them going and what attracts youths to them,” Amin-Madani said.
Responding, Gov. Shettima commended the cooperation “for clearly condemning Boko Haram and their activities.
“Your coming is a great moment in Borno, which has history of over 1000 years of Islamic civilisation.
“OIC is the collective voice of the Muslim world; we share in the positive ideals of the organisation which emphasises upholding Islamic social and economic values, cohesion and solidarity among member states.
“Other ideals of the OIC are: increasing cooperation in social, economic, cultural and scientific affairs; international peace and security, and most critically, the advancement of education, particularly in the area of science and technology.
“It is clear that these great ideals, aims and objectives of the OIC are in direct contrast with the weird ideologies of the extremist terror group, Boko Haram, that preaches violence and destruction by masquerading under the guise of Islam.”
Shettima said his administration had gone far in addressing the root cause of the Boko Haram insurgency through well documented policies and programmes.
He said that the programmes were checkmating extreme poverty, social exclusivity, ignorance, and underdevelopment whose consequences manifested in extremism and terrorism.
“With cooperation, support, partnership and collaboration with the OIC, we would conceive an organic and strategic partnership to bring development to our state to positively transform the lives of our people,” he said.
“The presence of the Secretary-General is a resounding testimony that the OIC is ready and willing to partner with us in this tortuous journey. The OIC and the Borno state government have already commenced processes of partnership through the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in the areas of education and human capital development, health, agriculture, urban and rural renewal projects.”
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