The Nigerian Airforce has reiterated its commitment to end the lingering war against Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast before 2020 runs out.

This was disclosed on Saturday in Maiduguri by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, during an address of men of the Air Task Force.

He said, “We must, therefore, keep working hard and I am very sure at least, before the end of this year or latest by the end of this year, we will be rounding up this operation. So work towards that and rest assured that the Nigerian Air Force will continue to support you.”

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

“I have been adequately briefed by the Commander and I have also been monitoring what you have been doing in the last few months, starting with “Operation Long Reach I” and “Operation Long Reach II”.

“I want to say that we are satisfied, we are very excited that you are making substantial progress in ensuring that the Boko Haram terrorists are eliminated in the Northeast so that our people can go back to their farms and live their normal lives.”
“I urge you to continue to ensure that everything is being done to ensure that Northeast and Nigeria are secured. On our part at the Air Force headquarters, I want to assure you that we will continue to support your operations, not only in terms of training you require, the equipment you require, but all the welfare requirements that you need in order to make you effective in your assigned task.”

A Nigerian Airforce aircraft.

Abubakar also said that the Nigerian Military is at the moment, enjoying good support from the Federal Government, such that has not been heard of in the past.

He added that more than 22 aircraft were procured in the past few years, while the delivery of 16 more is currently awaited, insisting that without the aircraft in the present security challenges, “the security situation in the country would have been unimaginable.”

Abubakar said, “Assuming these aircraft were not acquired, what would have been the situation. That is what we keep forgetting. So I want to appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari, the members of the National Assembly for passing the appropriate laws that enabled us to really have the resources to acquire this aircraft.”

“The availability of the aircraft has made us to be in every part of the country to tackle security challenges. So we are very grateful to the federal government for this support.”

“We are hoping that we are going to get more support. If we sustain this effort, in the next five to ten years, Nigeria will have one of the strongest Air Forces in the continent.”