The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that the war against Boko Haram insurgency in the country has been largely won, adding that the Nigerian Army has degraded the capacity of Boko Haram to get hold of any territory or launch spectacular attacks. In his address during a meeting with newspaper editors yesterday, he said, “I can report to you that the war against Boko Haram is largely won. I can confidently say this because just recently, I led a group of 33 journalists from both the local and the international media to the hotbed of the insurgency – Maiduguri, Konduga, Kaure and Bama.’’ Reacting to the December 31, 2015 deadline issued by President Buhari to the Nigerian Army to defeat Boko Haram, he said, “I can report to you that the entire 70 plus-kilometre stretch from Maiduguri to Bama and all the way to Banki (which leads to Cameroon and the Central African Republic) are in the hands of our (Nigerian Army) gallant troops.’’ “Until just four months ago, Bama was the headquarters of the self-declared caliphate of Boko Haram. It was the war’s ground zero, from where the terrorists called the shots, collected taxes and dispensed jungle justice. The palace of the Emir of Bama, whom they sacked, was their operational headquarters. Also, Konduga was attacked several times by the insurgents who wanted to use it as a staging post to attack Maiduguri.’’ He noted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration broke the jinx in tackling insurgency by first relocating the military’s command and control centre to the theatre of war in Maiduguri which boosted the morale of the troops. He stated, “You will agree with me that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration hit the ground running in tackling the insurgency, by first relocating the military’s command and control centre to the theatre of war in Maiduguri, raising the morale of the troops through enhanced welfare and the provision of the necessary fighting tools, and then rallying sub-regional, regional and global support for the war.’’ He added that the presence of the troops could be felt every few metres along the road that skirts the Sambisa Forest. “At a point along that road, we were just about two kilometres to the Sambisa Forest, which is continuously being pounded by our dedicated and patriotic military.’’ He stressed that the topmost challenge facing our country today is the issue of security, adding that it is time for nation building. He urged Nigerians to be security conscious, saying that the largely defeated Boko Haram sect has now adopted a new style: attacking oft targets like motor parks, schools, entertainment centres, religious centres and killing innocent people, mostly women and children.