By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri
The Executive Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has on Sunday called on the Federal Government to safeguard the vital assets and heavy equipment on the premises of the Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA). This is against the backdrop of attempts by some elements to auction off serviceable equipment as scrap metal.
The Federal Government established the Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA) to harness the vast marine and agricultural resources of the Lake Chad Basin and to boost irrigation farming, animal husbandry, water supply, and electricity supply.
Recently, the management of the CBDA was reconstituted by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources with a view to resuscitating the organization’s mandate and fast-tracking agriculture, food security, and rural livelihoods in Borno State and northeastern Nigeria.
Gov Zulum noted with dismay: “It has come to the attention of the Borno state Government that some unscrupulous elements are attempting to cart away the heavy equipment domiciled at the CBDA premises and booster stations across Northern Borno in the name of scrap metal auctioning. The Federal Government procured this equipment at a high cost, and it is serviceable. There is no reason whatsoever to auction them, as doing so will decapitate the CBDA and cripple the agricultural value chain in our state.”
Among the equipment being targeted for the “auction” are several items in perfect or serviceable condition: irrigation stations, booster plants, drilling machines, electricity-generation facilities, tractors, bulldozers, combined harvesters, pipelines, and crop processors, among others. Carting away these equipment, under any guise, will amount to decommissioning them and canibalising the CBDA.
Gov Zulum further notes, “while the Federal Government of Nigeria is working assiduously to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency, fast-track the mass resettlement of internally displaced persons, and revamp agriculture and rural livelihood, some unscrupulous elements and heartless vendors are working to frustrate the vision of the Federal Government. The people of Borno will not allow any attempt to remove our public assets and collective patrimony.”
It should be noted that there is a prodigal connection between insurgency, criminality, and illegal metal scavenging in Borno State. The metal-scavenging fraternity is linked to the Boko Haram insurgency. Metal scavenging in the Chad Basin and other fragile locations is either conducted by, or related to, the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) and Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) elements who are marauding at the Lake Chad Basin, Sambisa Forest, and Timbuktu Triangle. It will be an irony of epic proportions to allow the illegal sale or vandalisation of state assets to profit or boost Boko Haram/ISWAP.
In the context of Borno State, any attempt to allow metal scavenging will not only bolster insurgency and criminality but will also sabotage national defence and security.
Gov Zulum further reiterates that “the Borno State government policy on scrap metals remains active. The scrap metals business is usually used by clandestine elements, who are remotely connected to BH/ISWAP, as a decoy to vandalise and sell serviceable equipment and heavy metals in our state. We shall never allow any person or group to remove any metal from our state. We are recovering from a decade of insurgency, and we can service and recover our metals to serve as the agricultural and industrial backbone of our dear state”.
“Therefore, I call on the Presidency and Federal Ministry of Water Resources to prevail on the LCBA to shelve the wrongful idea of auctioning equipment, assets and facilities of the CBDA. I also call on our military and law enforcement agencies to be vigilant in the CBDA area of responsibility and the state at large to ensure that our public resources are not compromised or vandalised” Zulum noted.
