Every Nigerian Child Unaccounted For Is A Scar On Nigeria’s Face — Kukah

Rev. Kukah: Fighting Insurgency in Nigeria Must Go Beyond Military Operations

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Rev. Matthew Kukah, has said Nigeria must rethink its approach to tackling insurgency, stressing that the fight against Boko Haram requires professionalism and deeper engagement beyond military force.

Kukah spoke in Abuja on Friday during the public presentation of the book “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum” authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd.).

The cleric lamented that Nigeria has struggled to fully understand the nature and ideology behind insurgency because the problem was narrowly treated as a military operation.

“In my view, as long as Leah Sharibu remains unaccounted for, and as long as any abducted children in Nigeria remain unaccounted for, every missing child is a scar on the face of Nigeria,” he said.

Kukah argued that the abduction of every Nigerian child represents a national tragedy and cannot be addressed by military action alone.

“These issues do not require bullets, but from day one, fighting Boko Haram became a military operation. Because it was treated as a military operation, we have struggled to identify the nature of the forces and the ideas behind them,” he added.

He further emphasized the need for respect and trust between citizens and security agencies, saying:

“The Boko Haram question is not solely about victory, defeat, conquest, or degradation. These are military concepts. The question we must ask is: what will the end of Boko Haram look like? Because we are dealing with a concept, not just a battlefield.”

According to him, Nigeria must balance the professional and intellectual dimensions of the war if meaningful progress is to be achieved.

“Fighting a war of this nature must become very professional,” he concluded.

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