Despite the recent bomb explosions in Yobe and Borno states, the military has vowed to crush the Boko Haram insurgency by the December deadline given by President Muhammadu Buhari, writes SINA FADARE.
FOR the umpteenth time, the military has renewed its pledge to carry out the presidential mandate to crush Boko Haram terrorists by December. The renewal of pledge was made on Monday after a review of the on-going anti-terror was at a parley President Muhammadu Buhari held with Service chiefs.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Gabriel Abayomi Olonisakin, led the Service chiefs to brief the President on the security situation after a 60-day review.
The troops, he said, have been contending with weather and logistics challenges. But, the CDS assured that the presidential deadline to end insurgency by December would be met.
He told reporters after their parley with the President: “It is a military operation and military operations have time-lines and we are working on them assiduously.
The recent blockade of the source of food, fuel and other logistics by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNITF) to Boko Haram hideouts in the sprawling Sambisa Forest and the arrest of some of their financial, the hand writing may have been clearly written that the days of Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast are numbered.
President Buhari told the service chiefs that the December deadline to defeat the jihadists was sacrosanct.
He had earlier told a visiting Commander of the United States (U.S.), African Command, Gen. David Rodriguez, that with greater support from the American government in the areas of improved training, equipment, logistics and welfare, the troops are now positioned to meet the December deadline.
Buhari said: “We must thank the United State of America for sending training teams and equipment to us. The positive results of our collaboration are evident. Structured attacks by the insurgents have reduced and by the end of the year, we should see the final routing of Boko Haram as an orgainsed fighting force.”
Gen. Rodriguez assured his host that the U.S. would channel everything at its disposal to ensure that terror is defeated. According to him, his mission to the country was to strengthen military relations between Nigeria and the U.S. and to explore further options for assisting the 8,700 –man strong MNJTF, put together by the Lake Chad Basin countries of Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and the Republic of Benin.
Routed from their strongholds, the fleeing insurgents continue to let off Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at soft spots. The triple bomb explosions that occurred recently Maiduguri, the epicenter of the insurgency left more than 22 people dead and several wounded.
Many say the insurgents have changed tactics following their dislodgment by troops as they now attack mosques, which they find susceptible. But they agree that the terrorists no longer enjoy the luxury of rehearsing coordinated attacks, especially on churches, military installations public institutions including schools
Nigerians are of the view that the insurgents may have resolved to go down fighting that troops must outwit them in intelligence gathering. They hailed the killing of a suspected female bomber who was heading for a military base in Borno State to wreak havoc. Apart from the fact that she had IEDs in her bag, she also had bombs strapped on her body.
Addressing the Senate during the ministerial screening, former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, an expert on war study, noted that “if we are tough on terror, we also have to be tough on the sources of terror. Our criminal justice system has to be revisited. People don’t get punished for committing crimes in Nigeria. Our prisons have been saturated by those who are denied justice.”
If Fayemi espoused a holistic approach to insurgency, former President Olusegun Obasanjo believes that all available channels should be explored to secure the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls. He did not rule out negotiation provided it will produce the desired result.
But, a former military tactician and security consultant, Col. Gabriel Ajayi, explained that from experience, the option of negotiation might be a tall dream.
His words: “There is no record in military history where generals have received instrument of surrender from insurgents or terrorists. What usually happens is that their capacity to go on with the operation could be radically reduced and eventually fizzles out. Hardly will you find insurgents entering into dialogues, signing agreements.”
Col Ajayi pointed out that the insurgents continue to change tactics to sustain their cause despite their dislodgement by troops
“So, it is not as if Boko Haram insurgents are gaining the upper hand; they have only changed their tactics. Realising the futility of their action, they have resorted to guerrilla warfare at the moment. It would not be easy for the military to tackle them because of the unconventional tactics they are using,” he said.
However, a former intelligence specialist in the U.S. Army, Chris Moghalu, has expressed doubt in the deadline set to crush the insurgents. He hinged his doubt on the prevailing situation.
In a telephone chat, Moghalu told The Nation that with the trend of things, the affiliation of the terrorists with international terrorist gang will definitely affect the strategy and mode of operation.
He said the fact that the terrorists have access to money to finance and sustain their operations should be a source of concern to all.
According to the intelligence expert, managing guerilla warfare could be herculean “because you cannot see face to face with the people you are fighting. He urged the military to sharpen its intelligence gathering skills for efficiency.
Moghalu said: “They know what you are planning and if you are able to chase them away, they will come back again. They have their hideouts in neigbouring countries and with the porosity of our border, which is very wide, the task of crushing them by December in line with the presidential order may be a tall dream”
He noted that the terrorists have been collecting information about our military operation through their inner sources.
“We must tackle this as a first step, and then get essential training on intelligence gathering that will assist to know their modus operandi, their strength, source of weapons supply and method of delivery. After doing all these, the military can now plan on how to crush them,” he suggested.
He also flayed the way personnel are recruited into the military, saying the method has encouraged a lot of intruders, who had no business in the system because they serve as “moles who leaks sensitive information to terrorists on the plans and strategies being mapped out to counter insurgency. Against this backdrop and for a system that gives room for such loopholes, crushing insurgency before December deadline might be a mere illusion.”
If an early end to insurgency must be realised, Ajayi urged the military to “set up a think-tank to brainstorm on this issue to keep the terrorists on the run. We must be proactive, rather than just reacting to their strikes. This think-tank should be extra-organisation; it would not be part of the military as an organisation. This war is an unusual war, so we have to adopt unusual methods in dealing with it; we cannot handle it in the conventional way.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar believes the anti-terror war would be won within the time frame given to the troops. According to him, the pockets of attacks by members of the sect “are mere balackmail.”
As far as he was concerned, the MNJTF has turned the heat on the insurgents and their enclave would soon crumble.
Abubakar said the terrorists have been bitter and frustrated because the Buhari administration has taken the war to their camp, which has thrown them into disarray. He added that the massive territorial losses suffered by the terrorists and the cutting off of their weapons supply lines have significantly reduced their operational capabilities in terms of direct confrontation with the anti-terror forces.
The former vice president noted that the Boko Haram members were offering a last ditch resistance in desperate move to deceive Nigerians that they were invincible.
“They have been militarily degraded by the new offensive strategy adopted by the Buhari administration. They have displaced and sent them packing from the towns and villages they hitherto captured and occupied,” Abubakar said.
A former presidential candidate and Chairman, National Action Council (NAC), Dr. Olapade Agoro, said that “setting a target to end the war is easier said than done.”
He went on: “Nobody in history has ever given a deadline on when to end a war. We had that before when Jonathan came out to say that within some period, insurgency will be a thing of the past. The Boko Haram is not limited to a particular area, therefore they can strike anywhere. When you are fighting a war with people who are ready to die, then you are fighting a loose war.
“There was a time the military claimed that the leader of the sect had been killed. But, we were hearing another story. The bitter truth is that the military did not even know where they are. As a nation, if you want to put an end into it, you have to call all the northern leaders to have a serious talk with them because these people are not living in a desert, but within the people. They are not sleeping on the tree top but within the people.”
According to him, moving the headquarters of the military base to Maiduguri has not solved the problem. The only way is to restrategise and design a way of tackling the insurgents because we do not even see those who we are fighting. Only strategic peace deal can bring the war to an end.
“I have cried out in the past before the situation went out of hand. If former President Goodluck Jonathan had listened to what l told him, we would not be in this mess today,” Agoro said.
He, however, said that all hopes have not been lost if those in positions of authority heed the word of wisdom “because l cannot divulge all the strategy to be used on the pages of newspapers.”
But, with a determination of a tiger and the dexterity of a lion, President Buhari has vowed to end terrorism by the end of this year. He is relying on the groundswell of supports from the U.S., France and Israel among others.
Acknowledging the decision of President Thomas Boni Yayi of the Republic of Benin to increase his country’s contribution to the MNJTF, Buhari said: “I am impressed by your concern and critical approaches by increasing your contributions to the multinational task force of the Lake Chad Commission. This is a great sacrifice on the part of the Benin Republic.
“In my first coming into office under a different arrangement, we have learnt to live in peace with our neighbours. Within a week after I was sworn in, I went to Niger, Chad. I was supposed to go to Cameroon but I was summoned by the G7 leaders to brief them about the security situation in Nigeria concerning Boko Haram, which declared allegiance to ISIS which gives it international dimension.”
Yayi, who disclosed that his country would collaborate with Nigeria in the fight against terrorists, said: “I am by your side. You are not alone. We are ready to send about 800 men.”
Acknowledging the Republic of Benin as the 37th state of Nigeria, President Yayi described Buhari as a man of integrity who has shown concern about the integration of the sub-region.
“You are a man of integrity. The integration of the sub-region is your concern. Your coming here brings our two countries together. Our customs services should meet about economy. Benin is the 37th state of Nigeria,” Yayi said when he hosted his Nigerian counterpart.
