As Boko Haram insurgents continue to wreak havoc on Borno State, the people seem to have given up on the Joint Task Force (JTF) to protect them. They are asking the Federal Government to seek foreign military assistance to curb the menace. BONDUNRIN KAYODE (Maiduguri) reports.
They do not know what may happen the next minute. Whether guns will boom or not , they do not know. Neither are they sure which village, town or installation will be attacked by Boko Haram insurgents. They are constantly praying for their safety.
This is the lot of residents of Borno State who seem to have lost hope in the Joint Task Force (JTF) protecting them. The many killed by Boko Haram, especially in the first two months of this year. This didn’t go down well with the relations of those who are indigenous to Borno State who were killed by Boko Haram in the first two months of this year, the bereaved families are calling on the Federal Government to seek external military assistance in fighting the insurgents.
In tears, one of them told reporters in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, that the JTF was unable to protect her two sisters who were taken away by the insurgents.
“As it is now, I do not know whether they are dead or alive. These people are like vipers that drink blood. How would those girls survive under them?
“I think the situation is beyond the soldiers sent to counter these people. Something must be done urgently to save our girls from being captured as prisoners of war and impregnated in their camps,” said Aisha.
Serving and retired military officers and others expressed similar sentiments.
A retired military officer Yusuf Barma, whose brother was killed in Bama, decried what he described as “obvious lack of capacity” on the part of the JTF in Borno State.
Others observe that the morale of the soldiers is low.
Some who spoke to our correspondent in confidence said the only way the crisis could be resolved is for the Federal Government to ask for urgent military assistance from the Americans or any of its friends within the African sub-region.
Some respondents say the military was not sensitised enough to deal with the Boko Haram insurgency because of the obvious low level of morale of the soldiers.
While some felt that the Presidency was doing its best, Hajia Muslima Kolo whose business was ruined by the insurgents in Barga last year said President Goodluck Jonathan is deliberately punishing the people of the state.
Her words: ”Doyin Okupe should stop blabbing about what he does not know. These people destroyed my fish business and killed so many of my friends and relations. They claim the military is on top of the situation. Is the military on top of the situation and 500 people were killed in less than two months?
“If our soldiers can’t do the job, let the President seek help elsewhere. They should give arms to the civilian JTF and see what these boys would do,” she said.
Hajia’s friends corroborated her views, saying “the President should know that Maiduguri is not safe. What is happening here can never be compared to what happened in the Niger Delta creeks where insurgents were compensated later through the amnesty programme.”
According a member of the Nigerian Legion who pleaded anonymity, there was nothing embarrassing as seeking for help elsewhere because the soldiers were not trained in this kind of warfare. They have demonstrated gross inefficiency in managing the problem so far.
He said the situation is akin to that of Al-Qaeda whose activities are still on in Afghanistan.
“I strongly believe that the real soldiers are all retired. What we have now are boys who do not know their left from their right. That is why they allow these people to disgrace us the way they do,” our source said.
Governor Kashim Shettima had recently accused the Presidency of insensitivity to “the sorrowful plight” of the people judged by the fact that almost 500 lives have been lost this year alone.
His frustration was in response to comments by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe over Shettima’s views on the military in its fight against the insurgents. He had said the Presidency was unfair.
Okupe had recently dismissed Shettima’s assessment and reminded the governor that the war against the insurgents was not conventional in nature, insisting that there was evidence that the Nigerian Armed Forces and security agencies are on top of the situation in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
But in a statement in Maiduguri , Shettima’s media aide, Isa Gusau said: “The statement was rather unfair and insensitive to the sorrowful plight of the people and the government of Borno State. It is an irony that Okupe didn’t find it worthy to sympathise with the people of Borno State and to join in condemning the horrible serial attacks that left nearly 300 innocent citizens killed in February alone.
“Governor Kashim Shettima has the highest regard for President Goodluck Jonathan and appreciates his continued efforts in tackling the Boko Haram insurgency.
“Governor Shettima equally holds the Nigerian Armed Forces in very high esteem.
“The Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Security feels the same way of the Shettima administration.”
“As most Nigerians would testify, Shettima had been very patient before he opened up to Mr President and the sole aim was for Nigerians to appreciate the situation in the state.
May be Dr. Okupe wanted Governor Shettima to tell lies or to conceal the truth by deceiving Nigerians, or perhaps he wanted the people of Borno State to die in silence. rcumstance he found himself.
Reacting to the call for foreign military assistance, an impeccable source at the Defence Headquarters said calling the Americans or mercenaries to assist us in fighting Boko Haram may be inimical because the mercenary can equally work for the other side if the right fees are paid.
The source believes that the military has its problems like every other institution but was not unmindful of the problems on ground which includes extreme lack of personnel to counter the massive recruitment being carried out by the insurgents.
He said: ”I do not think this is the time to call on the Americans or any foreign anti-terrorist troop to fight our own war because it goes with a huge prize. It would mean compromising in some areas and you do not want that to happen to us at this trying time.
“It is not as easy as the people perceive it because the issue raised could actually cause the compromise of our sovereignty. All we regard as our secrets would be compromised because of the conditionality they will attach to this if we allow them. If they are allowed to interfere in our sovereignty, this may surely spell doom for us.
“On desertion of soldiers, I don’t agree that any soldier who was trained by us may have defected to Boko Haram as alluded. If the people are saying that our soldiers are fighting on the side of Boko Haram, I do not agree on that.
“Any soldier that turns his back on a battle is committing a crime. You are asking the Chief of Army Staff to go and stay in Maiduguri. That is not possible.
“There must be a central point of co-ordination in case other flash points trigger. So, if the Niger Delta region is triggered again, they expect the Army Chief to move down again to show how effective he is. That does not make sense to us,” he posited.
Meanwhile, social life has been completely paralysed in the state as most people close their shops and businesses as early as four in the evening to avoid being caught up in the curfew which may last longer than expected.
