Tears flowed freely, as he speaks.
It was like déjà vu and that is because it is coming in less than four years from when he was at that position.
His name is Kashim Shettima and he is the Governor of Borno State, Nigeria’s most troubled state when it comes to terrorism.
The Borno Governor and his entourage held talks with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, and at that meeting he wept while he narrated the situation in the state to the President.
Why Shettima Weeps
Shettima had seen local governments fall to Boko Haram during the administration of former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
The recovery of the local governments from the dissident group prior to the 2015 general elections and months that followed had brought joy to him, but that joy is fading away, like the stars of the morning, with families being thrown into mourning again in the state.
If it is not residents, it will be soldiers dying, and everything is falling apart.
His eight years in office has been laced with fights and struggles to stop the Jihadists from establishing a caliphate in the northeast.
In the last week in December alone, there was a battle for Baga, a community in Borno State and the military reported that one naval official was killed, but the battle was more than what the military reported.
That community was taken over by militants of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), a splinter group of Boko Haram that is now terrorising communities in the North East region.
Unconfirmed reports came out days after that battle that several military officials were killed.
The Emergency Management Agency also said that the battle displaced over 2,000 persons.
The jihadists are still pushing further into different communities, according to a report by Daily Trust that resulted in military invading their office.
The heat is mounting and Governor Shettima could no longer bear it, so he ran to President Buhari for help.
Giving his reasons for coming he said: “We rushed here because of the recent upsurge in the activities of the demented monster called Boko Haram, especially in Borno North Senatorial District.
“We are here because since 2015, Mr President, you have been able to restore our hope.
“Sir, you have demonstrated empathy for Borno and the overriding commitment to ending the Boko Haram. This is why we rushed here on witnessing some setbacks.
“We are here because we thought that Allah will use you to fully reclaim Borno traditional glory of being the home of peace. We are here as a people who worked, prayed and waited for your Presidency in the firm belief that with you as the Commander-in-Chief, Boko Haram will become history in Borno.
“Mr President, we have not, and Insha Allah, we will not lose hope in you because we have witnessed and survived worse moments before you came. We do not feel hopeless.
“Our hopes are very much alive and they are very high”.
The delegation, according to a spokesman for Governor Shettima, Isa Gusau, also presented a letter containing security-related “observations” and 10 undisclosed demands to the President.
He said the demands were connected to measures, which the delegation believed if adhered to, would help in the efforts to end insurgency in the area.
The current administration had the decimation of Boko Haram as one of their promises to Nigerians during campaigns before the 2015 election and everything appears to be returning to where they were in 2013 and 2014.
After the Governor of Borno State wept, President Buhari reassured him that his administration would strengthen the Nigerian military to neutralise the insurgents in the North-East.
