Nigeria witnessed a disturbing resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in the last fortnight, raising fresh fears that the 10-year-old war against the terror group is far from over.
Boko Haram proved it is still strong enough to have overrun four Nigerian Army bases between Wednesday, June 12 and Tuesday, June 18, 2019.
Its fighters attacked Army bases in the Mobbar, Damasak, Monguno and Gajiram areas of Borno State. The commanding officer of a battalion was reportedly killed along with several soldiers. The insurgents also reportedly destroyed or carted away arms, ammunition and other military hardware during the attacks.
Boko Haram chose June 12, the new Democracy Day, to begin the launch of fresh deadly attacks on the Army formations and communities in Borno State.
The Army has yet to make official statements on the casualties suffered as well as the extent of destruction and looting of arms, ammunition and other military equipment during the attacks.
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Besides the attacks on Army bases, the insurgents launched multiple suicide bomb attacks in Konduga, also in Borno State on Sunday last week, leaving at least 30 persons dead and 40 others injured. The victims included soccer fans, watching football at a viewing centre in Mandarari in Konduga.
The latest resurgence punctured claims by government that the Boko Haram had been defeated. It also raised concerns about the safety of inhabitants of the communities that had suffered invasions, resulting in loss of lives and property in the past.
A glimpse of the degenerate situation, was given last Tuesday when the Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna Diocese, Mathew Ndago-Manoso, revealed that members of the Boko Haram sect were not only controlling parts of Borno State, but also collecting taxes from residents.
In his speech at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigeria Catholic Diocese Priests’ Association in Kaduna State, Ndago-Manoso said the insurgents provided services to the people in areas under their control and had been collecting taxes from them. He said there was a possibility of government of being unaware of the development.
But the Federal Government would have Nigerians believe that the Boko Haram is no longer a threat, not holding any territory on Nigerian soil and has been incapacitated.
The reality, however, is that Boko Haram is still a potent threat to the peace and progress of our country. It is also obvious that the plan and strategies currently deployed in the anti-terror war had become ineffective.
The closest to conceding that all is not well was the declaration by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Tukur Buratai, last Tuesday that soldiers at the war front lacked discipline and commitment, hence the mounting losses of human and material resources to the enemies.
Gen. Buratai made the lamentation at the opening of a leadership workshop organised by the army for its middle cadre officers and soldiers.
The Army boss was quoted to have said: “It is unfortunate, but the truth is that almost every setback the Nigerian Army has had in our operations in recent times can be traced to insufficient willingness to perform assigned tasks or simply insufficient commitment to a common national/military cause by those at the frontlines.
“Many of those on whom the responsibility for physical actions against the adversary squarely fall are yet to fully take ownership of our common national or service cause.”
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In addition to exposing the shortcomings, dogging the anti-terror war, Buratai’s statement, coming shortly after the invasion of Army bases, reeks of frustration. But rather than motivating the troops as intended, the expression of displeasure is capable of further demoralising them.
The Army chief’s statement also amounted to passing the buck. A leader should be able to trust his commanders. If he could no longer vouch for the discipline and commitment of his commanders and he left them in the theatre to be run over by insurgents, the joke is on him.
Nigeria has lost too much to the war in human and material terms. Shouldn’t we cut our losses?
The Buhari administration is, perhaps, still basking in the euphoria of the early successes recorded in the Boko Haram war. With the Islamic State activists lending a helping hand to the local fighters, shouldn’t the government now consider a re-jig of the security architecture for better returns?
We call for an urgent replacement of the leadership of the armed forces with officers, who have fresh ideas and zeal to bring the decade-old war to a decisive, positive end.
