‘I’m ready to die,’ Gov Kashim Shettima dares Boko Haram in Gamboru Ngala

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, whose convoy was recently hit by Boko Haram insurgents in Gamboru Ngala, says he is ready to pay the supreme price if only to prove to the people of the State that he was capable of leading them from the front.

To this end, Shettima on Tuesday in Abuja told media hounds that he was planning a return trip to Gamboru Ngala in a week’s time to reassure the citizens that the State was safe enough for all and sundry. In doing so, the Governor said he would undertake the journey in a non-bulletproof vehicle.

Shettima spoke when he fielded questions from State House correspondents at the end of an expanded security meeting at the presidential villa. In attendance were President Muhammadu Buhari and the country’s service chiefs.

Asked to reflect on what had happened and it’s import for the security of Borno State, Shettima said:

“…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.’

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“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 in the common man?

“The Boko Haram bask 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.
“Leadership requires courage. I will go back to Gamboru Ngala next week and ready to pay the supreme price if need be and I will not be going in a bulletproof car. I will go in a normal car like other members of my convoy and expose myself to all the risks that they are bearing for me to be protected.”

He added, “When you juxtapose the sorry state of the northeast four years ago and what it is now, you will admit there has been great change 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.’’

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