UN boss Guterres meets Zulum, hails gov on fight against Boko Haram

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has hailed Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, after he paid a visit to the state on Tuesday.

Guterres had arrived at the Maiduguri International Airport onboard a UN humanitarian aircraft at about 2:30 pm. It was his first official visit to Nigeria.

According to a statement by the Borno government, Guterres visited an IDP camp along Gubio road and also at UN-supported Bulumkutu Interim Care Center (ICC), which serves the purpose of Disarmament, Deradicalization, and Reintegration (DDR) centre for repentant insurgents, provides interim services to children and women in need of care and protection and others affected by conflict in the northeast.

“Guterres interacted with humanitarian actors, internally displaced persons and government officials as part of his assessment. He called on the international communities to sustain support to Borno State towards addressing humanitarian needs. The UN Secretary-General spoke on the desire of IDPs to safely be resettled,” the statement said.

Guterres was quoted as saying, “What they (IDPs) really want is conditions to be able to go back home in dignity and safety. And that requires a high investment in trust, investment in livelihood, and investment in integration. I was thrilled to see that is happening. I understand that the dimensions of the problem require much resources. I appeal to the International community to support Borno State in addressing the humanitarian needs of the population.”

The UN Secretary-General applauded Governor Zulum’s approach in the fight against terrorism in Borno.

“I have discovered that here in Borno, thanks to the Governor, you have understood and put in place the right approach to fight terrorism; of course, when we fight terrorists, we need to shoot at them; we need to have armies, but that would not solve the problem if we did not address the root cause. What I have seen here in Borno was a Governor determined to address those root causes,” UN Boss said.