Airforce bombardment forces Boko Haram to accept negotiation – AVM Bello (retd)

By OKOSUN DENNIS

The recent release of some Boko Haram captives including some Chibok school girls, have been attributed to the constant bombardment of insurgents locations by the Nigerian Airforce.

The former Chief of Airforce, Air Vice Marshal Abdullahi Dominic Bello disclosed on Wednesday during the commissioning of two blocks of flats for airmen and the airforce Secondary School at the 041 Communication Depot in Shasha.

Speaking as the Special Guest of Honour, AVM Bello (retd) said “the use of air power to deter the insurgents did not only grant freedom of action to the ground troops to recover the lost areas but also forced the Boko Haram terrorists to accept negotiations with the federal government for the release of some of their captives; an offer they previously rejected.

“This is a clear indication that the terrorist’s capacity to fight had been seriously degraded, thus limiting their activities to merely suicide bombing of soft targets,” he reiterated.

However, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Abubakar Sadique expressed gratitude to God for the rear privilege to be able to boost personnel welfare with the construction of two blocks of accommodation for Noncommissioned Officers (NCO).

Speaking with National Daily, he explained that “We are making tremendous progress pointing out that everything is translating into efficiency in the system.

“We must take care of the human beings first which form the most important element and every other thing will go as planned.

Air Marshal Sadique noted that the force have been able to save huge millions of dollars that would have been used to refurnish platforms abroad noting that Airforce  personnel have reactivated about six engines of Alpha jets locally.

” Our personnel are working very hard. With the support of the federal government, we are reactivating airplanes, therefore, we are doing everything possible to attend to the welfare of our airmen and officer for maximum optimization.

In his remarks, AVM Bello who was the Chief of Air Staff from 1980- 1983 said, “the building of the new school and accommodation is something I never imagined. The CAS has done a lot to improve the lives of the people.

“The personnel have been provided with fantastic accommodation which would help them perform better. This is fantastic. I am very impressed.

“The NAF is a professional service and they are doing their work very well,” he reiterated.

Earlier, the CAS inspected 531 ACMD and Charlie-130 simulator building at the Airforce base, Ikeja.

The inaugurated school at Shasha have 18 classrooms, five laboratories, a library, home economics studio and recreational facilities, as well as offices for the Commandant and other members of staff.

In addition, each block consist of 30 fully furnished self-contained rooms.

National Daily gathered that similar blocks are being provided in major NAF bases across the country.

Earlier, the Air Officer Commanding  (AOC), Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Yahaya said the accommodation was built to meet the growing accommodation needs of airmen.

It was also learnt that two other projects are also currently ongoing at Shasha consisting of a block of 18 flats of two bedroom for Senior noncommissioned Officers (SNCO) and new Corporals below and a mess.