Former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, has urged the Federal Government to ensure that the ongoing security operations with the United States against terrorists do not end with the air strikes in the state.
On Friday morning, US President, Donald Trump, announced “powerful and deadly” strikes against the terrorists in the north-west region.
The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) later said the air operations were carried out at the “request of Nigerian authorities”.
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently confirmed that the country collaborated with the United States on the strikes targeting ISIS terrorists in Sokoto.
Reacting to the development in an interview on Arise News on Friday evening, Tambuwal said security collaboration should be more expansive and must not concentrate on one location alone.
The senator representing Sokoto South said areas of concern across the country deserve equal attention, adding that terrorist activities are not restricted to one state.
“Areas of concern like Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and a host of other parts of the country should be covered by this operation so that we do not have a situation where a particular part of the country that has not been as widely reported but is having such major security challenges as these other states would not be part of the narrative,” Tambuwal said.
“I believe that the Nigerian government should seek greater collaboration with many more countries, including the US and others that are willing to support this fight; after all, it is a transnational issue.
“It is not just a local issue about Nigeria, because this is all over the Sahel, from Mali to Burkina Faso and other countries of this kind.”
