Ali Ndume, the senator representing Borno South Senatorial District, has stated that the threat posed by Boko Haram in the Northeast is less severe than that posed by banditry, abduction, IPOB, and cultism in other parts of the country.
The senator revealed this on Wednesday while addressing the Federal Government’s need to improve the Maiduguri airport to an international airport.
Ndume stated that the Northeast zone should not be stigmatized because of past insecurity, emphasizing that Maiduguri is strategically located for travelers boarding international aircraft.
The senator stated that while some people were concerned about security because of Boko Haram; the threat had passed.
He said: “If we have an airport in Maiduguri, that will solve problems associated with passengers embarking on international flights without even going to Lagos.
“The issue of Boko Haram has come and gone, and well, we thank God that these things are not happening elsewhere. I don’t want a situation where we will use this Boko haram as a stigma.
“This is how others started talking about the Haram issue in Maiduguri. Supposing now that you are from South West and terrorists are everywhere and they bring down a plane, or what they call unknown gunmen in the South East, will you now say it is not safe to have an international airport [there]?
“If it happened at the airport, would you say what guarantee do you have over security? Now, the Boko Haram issue is lesser compared to the bandits we have in North West and is lesser than the problem we have with unknown gunmen, IPOB, and cultists in the South East. It’s lesser than kidnapping that is happening in your zone.
“All flights that go to the Middle East or North Africa, like Egypt, Ethiopia, and others, pass through Maiduguri every day, and we only hear the noise, but we don’t see them touching ground.
All we are saying is that there are a lot of passengers in Maiduguri. We want to see them stopover because any international flight that takes off from Abuja or Kano will definitely see passengers from Borno or other North East states like Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, and Gombe.”
