Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has said his predecessor, Senator Ali Modu Sherriff contributed in no small measure to the spread of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East by refusing to settle the differences between the armed forces and members of Yusuffiya movement when it was a simple stage.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that the governor’s reaction is coming at a time when his predecessor stated that under his leadership as governor of the state, no territory was under the siege of the terror group.
Shettima spoke on Monday (today) while delivering a paper titled: “Managing the Boko Haram crisis in Borno state, experiences and lessons for a multi-party, multi ethnic and multi religious Nigeria,” at the annual lecture in honour of the late Head of State, Murtala Mohammed, in Abuja.
The governor claimed that the failure of Sheriff to provide leadership in the state, led to the then Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf declaring a jihad that later spread through the North East region.
Recalling that Yusuf was a constant critic of the Sheriff’s administration, Shettima said in July 2009, some armed security agencies clashed with members of the sect over the use of helmets and shot 17 of them and the then governor did nothing.
According to Shettima, “The fact is that Sheriff allowed his ego to overcome his action and failed to settle the differences between armed forces and members of Yusuffiya movement at the time.
“A governor should have at least visited victims of the shooting to lay foundation for peace and he should have set up a commission of inquiry just like what Governor El Rufai did in Kaduna recently.
“He chose to mismanage the incident. He did not send anyone or settle the medical bill of anyone and he played into their hands. That gave Yusuf an opening to declare jihad.”