RUGA – Borno State Government Donate Parts Of Sambisa Forest To Cause
Babagana Umara, the Executive Governor of Borno State has donated some sections of Sambisa forest – an area known sometime in the recent past to be the stronghold of the terrorist group, Boko Haram – for the Rural Gazing Area programme also known as RUGA.
iDONSABI.com notes that the controversial initiatiative brought forward by the government of the Buhari-led administration has generated massive debate in all political circles as well as all across the country and has been thus suspended by the Federal Government.
However, Umara Babagana has made a move in respect to the RUGA initiative. This, he revealed on Monday when he hosted the Shehu of Borno, Garbai El-Kanemi, who paid him a Sallah homage.
Babagana also stated that he had ordered and mobilized the Nigeria Security and Defence Corps (NSCDC), hunters and agro rangers to do all that is possible to maintain security in the surrounding area.
The allocated area of Sambisa forest put out for the RUGA initiative will cut across six council areas of Konduga, Bama, Gwoza, Chibok, Damboa and Askira/Uba.
“This administration is determined to strengthen the security architecture to encourage farming and herding activities across the state,” the governor added.
“We’re also distributing 80 patrol vehicles to the response team so that farmers, herders and commuters could move as well as travel within a radius of 30-40 kilometres of Maiduguri metropolis.”
He also said: “About 75 trained agro rangers and 300 hunters will also be mobilised next week to enable farmers [to] cultivate their farmlands that were prevented by terrorists’ activities.
“The state government is determined to address the root causes of insurgency through improved security; fight against drug abuse and enhance food security with increased job creation among unemployed youths.”
