Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd) has said Nigeria can lock down its borders to deal with the growing insecurity in the country, just as it was done to deal with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

Buratai made this suggestion on Friday, when he was responding to questions in an interview on ‘Sunrise Daily’, a programme with Channels Television.

The former Nigerian envoy to the Benin Republic stated that allowing insurgency to continue to linger was dangerous for the country, hence the need to invest in tackling the problem.

According to him, community resilience, involving collaboration among political, traditional, and religious leaders, was needed to find lasting solutions to address insecurity in Nigeria.

The ex-Army chief further said that he had earlier warned that the insurgency would last longer, hence the need for a long-term plan, adding that the Nigerian military should be seen as a solution to insecurity, rather than a hindrance.

DAILY POST reports that Buratai was the Chief of Army Staff during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Weighing in on the lingering issue of state police, Buratai maintained that while the idea was important, it could be abused by politicians to intimidate their opponents.

According to him, Nigeria can safely say that the idea of state police has come to stay if the issue of political interference can be addressed.

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