Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said a regional joint task force to fight the militant
group Boko Haram will be up and running by the end of this month. In an interview with VOA’s Peter Clottey, Tuesday, Mr. Buhari said that Nigeria will lead the task force and that troops from several of Nigeria's neighbors could be deployed in operations against the militants.
President Buhari, who hails from Northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram is most active, said there has been progress in the fight, but he refused to predict imminent victory.
"We have killed the commanders," Mr. Buhari said, and added that "certain troops have been trained and the multinational joint task force, comprising of troops from Chad, Niger, Nigeria Benin Republic, are being heard in the theater of operations so really this is the practical and the realistic way the problem can be fixed."
Cameroon is also contributing troops to the task force.
Mr. Buhari, who is on a four-day visit to Washington, met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, and on Tuesday, with Secretary of State John Kerry, ahead of meetings with members of Congress and a town hall meeting with Nigerians who live in the U.S.
President Buhari has also vowed to fight corruption and recover money stolen from government Coffers.