'Military gaining ground' against Boko Haram - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday
said great strides had been made in the fight
against Boko Haram, rounding on critics lamenting a
lack of progress against the insurgents.
"I think if you have been listening hard enough or if
you have been to the northeast (of Nigeria), the
military is really gaining ground," the 72-year-old
former military ruler said on a visit to Ghana.
Buhari, who has made defeating the Islamists his
priority since taking office in late May, said the
rebels were "virtually limited" to the remote
Sambisa Forest area of Borno state, in northeast
Nigeria.
Many of the 2.1 million displaced by six years of
violence have begun returning home, he added.
"If you really bother to find out, a lot of progress is
being made," he told reporters.
Buhari has faced accusations of being too slow to act
since becoming president, particularly on
appointments to key government positions. Most
senior ministerial roles remain unfilled.
Also read: Boko Haram attacks northern Yobe State
He has also had to dampen high or unrealistic
expectations about a swift end to the insurgency,
which has left at least 15,000 dead, threatened
Nigeria's sovereignty and increased security fears
across the region.
Hopes have been high that an African Union-backed
multi-national force, comprising troops from
Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, will
crush the Islamic State Group-allied militants.
But a planned July-end deployment of the force has
been delayed. In the meantime, deadly attacks
have continued, although the military has claimed a
series of successes in recent weeks.
They include the recapture of the strategic town of
Gamboru Ngala on the Cameroon border and the
arrest of an alleged top commander.
On August 13, Buhari gave his newly appointed
military top brass three months to rout the
jihadists.
Buhari's Ghanaian counterpart John Dramani
Mahama, commended the Nigerian head of state
for his work galvanising neighbouring countries into
the counter-insurgency, despite often strained ties
with Abuja.
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