Boko Haram: Stakeholders want Shettima to come out clean

Borno State stakeholders have called on Governor Kashim Shettima to come out clean on what he knows about the unrest in the state.

The Borno Stakeholders Foundation, the umbrella group for concerned stakeholders from the three senatorial zones in Borno state, made this call on Tuesday.

The stakeholders were reacting to a recent statement credited to Governor Kashim during an extraordinary security meeting to discuss the state of insecurity in Borno state.

The group said it was unfair for the governor to mention that the Buhari administration hasn’t done its best in area of security in the state.

Shettima Ali Adamu, National President of the group, who made this observation in a widely circulated press statement on Tuesday , said Shettima has refused to make life meaningful for the people of the state, despite the availability of resources at his disposal.

He said, “For instance, the issues of unemployment have consistently remained on a high, thereby giving the hungry youths more and more reasons to pitch the tent with the Boko Haram group.

“The governor also failed to admit that his government has not deemed it fit to provide the much needed necessary infrastructure in the communities that were liberated from the Boko Haram strongholds.

“While it is understandable to members of the unsuspecting public to believe hook, line and sinker, the narrative of the governor, the Borno Stakeholders Foundation rebuffs and challenges Governor Shettima Kashim to have the courage to tell the people of the state how, he alongside the political elites have been of disservice to the people by the reckless manner funds meant for the provision of social amenities were spirited to private pockets.

“The Borno Stakeholders Foundation also challenges Governor Shetima Kashim to tell the whole world what he did with local government funds in the past seven years and why the Borno State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) threatened to go on strike over unpaid gratuities to workers in the past five years.

“The Governor might also wish to tell the whole world how he has been mismanaging funds meant for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state in the past seven years.

“Given the stated facts, the Borno Stakeholders Foundation wishes to call to order the actions of Governor Shetima Kashim which could be best described as the “Voice of Jacob and the Hands of Esau” as there is more than meets the eyes in the various security threats currently experienced in Borno state.

“The Borno Stakeholders Foundation has over time advocated for transparency and accountability in governance in Borno state, given the resources at its disposal, it should in the least be able to provide for its citizens especially in the areas of necessities of life. But ironically, this hasn’t been the case of governance under Governor Kashim Shettima.

“Instead, Governor Shettima Kashim has carried on in such a brazen manner that defeats common sense and unlike someone whose roof is on fire through his insensitive actions and inactions in the governance of the state.

“The Borno Stakeholders Foundation, as critical stakeholders in Borno State wishes to state empathically that Governor Shetima Kashim has failed the people of Borno state as regards containing the threats posed by the Boko Haram terrorists because it is unthinkable for a supposedly elected governor to ignore security advice, to misappropriate funds meant for victims of Boko Haram’s cruelty and also to be able to misrepresent facts in public domain all in the name of politics.”