United Nations says lack of trust in leaders was the major cause of Boko Haram insurgency in North East Nigeria.
It said the mistrust made residents to build trust in the lies of the insurgents who wooed them.
UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Africa, Ahunna Eziakonwa who disclosed this at the weekend, however said the world body has made remarkable progress in bringing peace to the region.
Eziakonwa who said she had visted Nigeria to access the impact of UN’s interventions, added that normal was gradually returning to troubled area, even though more work still need to be done.
“When we started this two years ago, we didn’t know if it would be successful because of its complexities, but some of the donors trusted us, she said.
“There are still many challenges, but it was amazing to see that because of these green shoots of investments that we are starting to make in rehabilitating the areas, people are feeling confident enough to go back to their ancestral homes to re-cultivate their lives.”
She said the UN shied away from physical visibility in its interventions, but operates from behind so as to allow for lost trust to be rebuilt.
The UN officials said when the people believed that their leaders did not care, they could be spurred to join forces with people who might demonstrate that they cared more.
She said the focus was to find a way to stop citizens from getting roped into extremist violent groups by ensuring that leaders actually care.
She Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, whom she said had clearly demonstrated commitment to help his people to come out of the bad situation.
