By Abbas Abubakar Umar
SIR: The Forty-Eight Laws of Power, a book written by Robert Greene is one book that military personnel not just in Nigeria but the world over hold sacred.
The book examines the various laws one can follow to succeed, conquer and defeat the enemy in various situations and encounters.
Law fifteen of the book is titled “Crush your enemy totally”. The author states that “All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely.
If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly, it smolders; a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: the enemy will recover and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.”
I am amazed at the recent announcement by Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Obok-Ete Ibas of government’s plan to withdraw the military from internal security duties notably in some volatile areas in the country beginning from the first quarter of this year.
There can be no denial that the military have recorded tremendous success in the fight against Boko Haram.
If I may borrow from a Daily Trust editorial of January 5, “Even though some people criticized the many military operations as an incipient military takeover of the country, there is no doubt that they have brought calm to many once volatile areas.”
The truth is that there has been tremendous improvement in states like Zamfara hitherto regarded as a “killing field” in the Northwest.
The same is true of Katsina, Plateau and some areas in the North-central under terrorists’ onslaught. There is also no doubt that the security situation in Southern Kaduna has improved noticeably.
I travelled from Kaduna to Abuja last week with no fear of attack from kidnappers along the road or any possible attack from bandits.
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With all the successes recorded in the fight against Boko Haram, kidnappers, bandits and the reduction in farmers/herders’ clashes, there is need to exercise caution in recalling the troops from these theatres of operation.
The words of the chairman of the Northern Governors forum and governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong is particularly noteworthy: “I think we should do that in a gradual process and with great caution for volatile areas, especially now that we are beginning to build confidence and encourage the return of Internally Displaced Person’s to their original homes.”
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN, Dr. Samson Ayokunle has also spoken in the same vein: “The embarrassment these terrorists may cause the government if they go ahead to withdraw troops may be too much…A word is enough for the wise” he said.
A word is not just enough for the wise, it will be much to bear if we fail to listen.
Truth is, the kidnappers, bandits and the dreaded Boko Haram have remnants in parts of the country, especially in the north just as there are of oil-bunkers and pipeline vandals in other parts of the country.
Those remnants are still capable of unleashing mayhem on ordinary citizens, despite the tremendous success recorded by the Nigerian Army.
With this planned withdrawal, those terrorists will simply regroup, explore new targets, deploy new tactics, innovations, techniques and technologies to unleash mayhem on the citizens.
We should not forget the stern warning of an Indian Philosopher of the third century, Kautilya who said “The remnants of an enemy can become active like those of a disease or fire, hence, these should be exterminated completely.
One should never ignore an enemy, knowing him to be weak, he becomes dangerous in due course, like the spark of fire in a haystack.”
- Abbas Abubakar Umar, Jabi, Abuja.
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