The former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai, has says he confronted insurgency in the North East by winning hearts and minds of the populace in the region.
Buratai, who is the immediate past Ambassador of Nigeria to the Republic of Benin, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja at the weekend.
According to him, the people also realised that President Muhammadu Buhari was passionate about restoring peace and stability to Borno and the entire North-East region.
He said that there was also the reinvigoration of joint civil-military operations, composed of all operational formations of the Services.
“It assists the joint force commander in humanitarian or national-assistance operations, theater campaigns or civil-military operations occurring concurrently,” he said.
Buratai urged the military to be resilient and never succumb to the threats of insurgents, terrorists, separatists, kidnappers or armed robbers.
He said the major trick of the terrorists was to instill fear in the minds of people so much so that the people would be afraid to go to their farms, businesses or send their children to school.
“We must all take a stand and show that we are not with the insurgents and the terrorists.
“What the military is doing is fighting for the safety of the people, the military is there to protect and defend the people.
“The military is not just fighting the terrorists on their own, they are there because of the people. This war is a people’s war, and not just a military thing.
“Therefore, we must all get involved, be resilient, provide timely and credible intelligence and avoid any action that will disrupt the peace.
“We have a duty to ensure that we entrench peace right from our homes. We must also know what every member of our community is engaged in,” he said.
