By Asunmogejo Yusuf Olawale
No doubt, the storming wave from the relentless campaign of terror and attacks by the Boko Haram Insurgents have successfully overturned the efforts and strides of the Nigerian Army. Evidence of the recent slaughtering of over 43 innocent Nigerians from Borno Northeast Nigeria has proven a fault in the strategic approaches to fighting this deadliest terror group.
One striking issue is that the recent spate of attacks and terror unleashed by this deadliest terror group happened in communities less than 20 kilometers from the central city of Maiduguri. Many northern leaders have come out to reel out their displeasure at the security situation of the region.
Their outcries have been based on the fact that the people are in two complicated situations; they may be killed by hunger and starvation when they are at home, and face the risk of being killed by the insurgents while they go out.” With a particular emphasis on the attacks carried out by Boko Haram, tens of thousands of Nigerians have been killed, with over 2.5 million displaced (UNHCR, 2020) from their homes and communities.
Ever since the emergence of Mr. Buhari, nothing has changed from what was witnessed in the past government. In fact, the casualties figures have exponentially risen to the point where Nigerians have lost count of numbers.
Its been nearly five years into this current administration, the public has not seen any fruitful result other than “they have been technically defeated.” Despite the over 9 billion US dollars spent according to General Buratai, the Boko Haram insurgents have continued to operate, slaughter innocent citizens, and unleash mayhem on fighting soldiers. The big question is; Why has the Nigerian government failed to defeat Boko Haram?.
One major black factor why Nigeria has been struggling to defeat Boko Haram is the corruption in the military. The system has failed to equip the fighting soldiers with ammunition to match that of the insurgents. Several military officers have penciled down their outcries as to the lack of sophisticated weapons to match that of the insurgents.
Recall that over 9 billion US dollars have been spent; why are there no perfect arrangements for logistics, welfare, and protections of the soldiers?
Secondly, the commander-in-Chief has failed to take charge of the affairs of the state. As a military general, one would expect Mr. Buhari to have taken tactical and strategic actions to give Nigerians confidence and solace in his government. One crucial factor to this cause is the neglect of the 2014 National Conference Report.
The APC government failed to understand the impact of community leaders in securing the lives and properties of the grassroots. No doubt, if that report can be implemented, the road to defeating all security menace will become more clearer. There is more to this fight than just partisan politics and pure military struggle. It’s time to improve public service and reintegrate demobilized militants.
This struggle calls for more evaluative positions from the regional and community leaders, a goal that cannot be achieved without proper implementation of the Confab report.
Thirdly, the Nigerian government has not been sincere enough to know that the current military cannot defeat Boko Haram. Boko Haram now has diffused international support of ammunition and logistics, having variegated systems of unleashing attacks. Therefore, defeating them becomes difficult day-by-day.
The bitter truth is that Nigeria needs multinational military intervention from the neighboring countries. If one would ask how productive this will be, the answer lies in the facts and figures of the successful operations of the military when they received the support of the Chadian troops in 2015.
There is a need for more Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) support from more countries to aid the stance of Nigeria against these insurgents. Finally, the spate of terror has continued to increase in recent times, and if the military doesn’t win the fight now, when will they?.