Governor Shettima has declared that last week ambush on his convoy by Boko Haram insurgents would not stop him from supporting the federal government’s determination to crush them.
He said that he would next week return to Gamboru Ngala, the scene of the attack.
Shettima, who said that Boko Haram thrives on publicity and that by attacking his convoy had gotten the much- needed boost, stated that leadership requires courage, adding that he would not chicken out.
While admitting the existence of security challenges in the state, the governor however said that the situation was far better than what it was four years ago.
He said: “When you juxtaposed the sorry state of the Northeast four years ago and what it is now, you will admit there have been great changes in our fortune security wise. The threats and challenges are still there but when you put it in proper perspective, I think the president deserves commendation not condemnation.
“Be that as it may, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. I am the chief security officer of the state, I should have the courage and believe me not that I am not petrified. No! John McCain says ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act in spite of it.’
“As the chief security officer of the state, the day I say I cannot go to a certain part of the state because of the insecurity; then what sort of confidence are you inspiring on the common man?
“The Boko Haram basks in the oxygen of publicity, by attacking my convoy, by targeting my person; they have gotten the much-needed boost. But then as they say if you cannot withstand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” he said.
He further contended that “leadership requires courage. I will go back to Gamboru Ngala next week and I am ready to pay the supreme price if need be and I will not be going in a bullet-proof car. I will go in a normal car like any other member of my convoy and expose myself to all the risk that they are bearing for me to be protected.
“But believe me, no matter how long the night is, darkness must give away to the light of the dawn; no matter how stormy the weather may be, it won’t rain forever. This madness will come to an end because it is a fight between light and darkness, it is a fight between cause and justice,” he stated.
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