Boko Haram menace in Nigeria transitory, says Tanzanian envoy

The High Commissioner of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mr. Daniel Ole Njoolay, yesterday, said that the present security challenges confronting Nigeria, especially in the north-eastern states of the country, is but temporary. Njoolay, who made the remarks at a press briefing in commemoration of the Tanzania 50th Anniversary celebration in Abuja, said Nigeria would sooner than later overcome those challenges. He said he was of the belief that the spate of terrorism in the country would not affect the country’s bilateral relations with other countries as terrorism has become a phenomenon almost in every country of the world. “Nigeria is a big country; Nigeria is a strong economy; Nigeria has everything it takes; Nigeria is a big brother in Africa. I think these issues of Boko Haram are transient. Definitely, they will come to an end sooner than later. It is not something that will interrupt business relations between countries. Sooner than later, it will come to an end. It is my very sincere opinion that it is something transient, temporary. This kind of thing happens everywhere,” he said. The envoy, who said that corruption is not limited to a country, pointed out that having strong institutions and political will to fight the menace would drastically reduce the problem. His words: “I think corruption is problem everywhere; not only in Tanzania, not only in Nigeria but everywhere. It is a question of greed, I will say. In the developed world, in the underdeveloped countries, corruption is everywhere. Corruption is in every country. In Tanzania for instance, we have an institution called Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (BCCB). It is a very strong institution. “And it started a long time ago but over the period it has been strengthened to go down to the grassroots, to the district level; from high offices up to the district level, to try and combat corruption at the lower level all the way to the highest level. So, if you have strong institution and if you have the political will of the population, you can curtail corruption; you cannot wipe it out. Don’t let anybody deceive you that it can be wiped out but you can curtail it. But there has to be political will, there has to be strong institution that are well taken care of, well equipped with personnel and with equipment to be able to cut down corruption.” On the celebration, he said Tanzania would mark the 50th anniversary of the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar on the April 26, 2014.