In the last few days, scores of innocent Nigerians have been bombed to death in parts of the North East. As you read this story, unprovoked attacks are still going on in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. Multitudes of people are fleeing their ancestral homes, an ugly development that continues to create an army of internally displaced refugees (IDRs). These are all happening despite several assurances of respite from the military high command and the government at the centre. The question that is being asked is, why has the Federal Government not being able to contain the insurgency?
In the recent times, the military has court-mashalled a good number of soldiers for various offences, ranging from mutiny to sabotage, and to abandonment of duty posts.
But a pundit who would not want his name in print accused the military high command of leaving the major war to busy itself with minor issues.
“Instead of the military high command to face the war raging in the North, they are busy arresting soldiers who they accuse of dodging the war. What I think they should concern themselves about is finding the reason soldiers run away from the Boko Haram members. Is it as a result of sabotage; lack of better fighting equipment etc? We cannot behave like Emperor Nero, who was playing the fiddle while Rome was on fire,” the analyst said.
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s SEC says governments can unlock potentials through privatisation
In a move that wore the face of a vote of no confidence in the military echelon, the Senate had last Wednesday summoned service chiefs to an urgent meeting the following day, Thursday.
Those invited included Air Marshal Alex Badeh, chief of defence staff; Kenneth Minimah, a Lt-General and chief of Army staff; Vice-Admiral Usman Jibrin, chief of Naval Staff; Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, chief of Air Staff; Suleiman Abba, the Inspector General of Police, as well as Ekpenyong Nsah, director, Department of State Service (DSS).
The meeting was called, to among other things, asked the service chiefs to give account of the huge amount of money earmarked to fight insurgency and how such money was expended.
Thompson Sekibo, chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, apparently dumping the blame at the doorsteps of the military chiefs, said: “I know as a Senate that we have done whatever we need to do to support the Armed Forces to combat the battle and bring insurgents to their knees. I also believe that virtually all the directives the Senate has passed on to the President, he has also honoured them, including the recent $1 billion loan that was requested for.
“I believe that in addition to the $1 billion through the Office of the National Security Adviser, they will also be providing funds for the purchase of military equipment, but for us to wake up and hear that we are being overrun in some areas is embarrassing.”
Sekibo further said: “The elections are coming so fast in the next few weeks. People are going for primaries and we are worried whether our colleagues in the North-East can go for primaries. Where will they start from? I believe that after the meeting, some of these questions will be answered.
“Between the last declaration of state of emergency till now, the President, heeding the voice of National Assembly, has procured some equipment and … we want to have an inventory of equipment we have on ground.
“We also want to be sure that we have competent manpower. How do the insurgents get their equipment? How do they get them through the border?”
Recently, James Bala Ngilari, the newly elected governor of Adamawa State, confirmed that the Islamist sect had overrun five local government areas in his state, expressing deep concern over the ugly security situation in the state. He called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene.
It would be recalled that Zana Mustapha, deputy governor of Borno State, had earlier lamented that the insurgents were capturing some territories in the troubled states.
Apart from the negative impact of the insurgency on the economy of the North, academic activities are also suffering as schools have been shut in many parts of the affected states. The ugly development, analysts say, is likely to worsen the already precarious state of education in the region.
On November 4, 2014, a few hours after the Federal Government had given the military marching orders to flush out the insurgents from Mubi, the sect defiantly renamed the town “Madinatul Islam”, meaning the city of Islam.
Speaking with BDSUNDAY, an indigene of Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Alhaji Maiha, said massive recruitment is going on by the Boko Haram sect of the numerous jobless youths in the area.
“I must tell you that the situation in Maiha my local government area is very precarious. These bad boys have seized the entire place. As we speak now, massive recruitment is going on. They recruit army of jobless youths, give each of them about N1 million cash and a gun; the next day, they marry for them. That is what is happening now in Maiha and other areas they have captured,” Maiha said.
“They have sophisticated weapons, and you can see that there are foreigners fighting on the side of the Boko Haram members. They are fair-skinned. Whenever you hear the sound of their gun, you can easily differentiate it from that of soldiers. They go with machine guns with magazines stripped on their shoulders and waists. As for Mubi, they have not completely taken control of the place; there is serious fight between them and soldiers who are repelling their assault,” he added.
The indigene warned that the way the insurgents are pushing with force, they are capable of taking over Yola Airport, which he said would be very catastrophic.
“My greatest fear is that the way they are pushing, they may soon get to Yola, the state capital. And if that happens and they are able to get hold of Yola Airport forget it; they would move to Abuja, and other places. Then at that point, the problem would have become a full scale war. This is not impossible going by their determination and the way they are pushing. I really sensed a serious danger ahead,” he explained, rather sadly.
A retired Army colonel, Dilli, who is now a pastor with one of the Pentecostal churches, said he has since left Mubi with his family.
Speaking with our reporter on telephone, Dilli said: “The situation is tense. We have left Mubi. We are now in Yola. Someone called me from Edo State that I should move down to Benin City with my family to stay with them there. But we are yet to move; we are still monitoring events. But one thing I must tell you is that we need a divine intervention.”
Nigerians have expressed disappointment that certain individuals who were employed by government with a high expectation that they would end the crisis, by virtue of their experiences and where they come from, are yet to meet that aspiration.
For instance, when Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, was appointed in March this year as Defence minister, many people cheered and expressed the optimism that he would deploy his wealth of experience in dislodging the insurgents in no time at all.
While he was taking the oath of office on March 7, 2014, Gusau acknowledged that he had a big job in his hands.
He said: “The challenges are evidently daunting but surmountable; with the help of almighty Allah and our collective resolve and determination we will get to the destination that will give Nigerians the confidence that the country is indeed a safe place for everyone.”
According to him, “reading through the handover notes, I carefully looked at the structure of the ministry of Defence, including the detail of its institutions, I have also studied the responsibilities of the various units and manpower dispositions both in the civil and military.
“The ministry has recorded remarkable successes in some areas and they can do much better in others, I applaud the achievements of the past and look forward to adding our modest contribution in the months ahead.”
Today, Gusau is hardly heard. A pundit, who craved anonymity, said: “The man is a thorough-bred professional when it comes to security issues having held several posts that had to do with security both in the military era as well as in the civilian dispensation. But I think his dead silence posture this time around in the midst of war calls for thorough investigation. It is of serious concern that the man is not even seen let alone heard of. I am aware that there was a cold war sometime ago between him and the military high command over who should call the shots. If he has seen himself incapable of performing within the arrangement on ground, he should excuse himself by resigning honourably. This is a critical moment that does not call for bench-warming or docility at that level.”
“Again, I am very sad that it appears the military is incapable of ending the rebellion. The questions I keep asking myself are why is it that Nigeria as a country is not capable of silencing the Boko Haram members? Does it mean that everybody in the North East is now Boko Haram or that they have out-numbered Nigerian soldiers? What actually is happening?” the pundit wondered.
It would be remembered that when he was appointed the Defence minister, a pundit had warned about great expectation from Nigerians that Gusau had come to do a magic.
“If Gusau had not been a politician; or let me say, if he were not still nursing any political ambition, and remained only a professional soldier, though in retirement, he would have excelled on his current job, but because he will still go back to the people of North someday to canvass their votes for Presidency, he will definitely not bite with the venom expected of him to check the insurgency. What we are likely to see is a lukewarm attitude to the fight. This may be a personal opinion, but at the end of the day, I may be vindicated. Do you know why? Buhari remains an idol to many people in the North because they see him as one who protects their interest. So, let nobody think Gusau has come to crush Boko Haram with a sledge hammer,” the analyst had said.
By the same token, the appointment of Sambo Dasuki, a retired colonel, as the national security adviser (NSA), was on the basis of his huge connections and family background in the North. It was believed that his appointment would help a great deal in dealing with the insurgency.
Pundits say that the number of those killed by the Boko Haram members since the appointment of the two big personalities from the North may have exceeded those killed before their arrival on their current beats.
“They may have their limitations why they are not living up to the expectation; but the truth of the matter is that they have no excuse for not performing,” Obike Adah, a public commentator, said.
On the efforts of the nation’s service chiefs, Adah suspected that they may be having some problems somewhere.
“Some time ago, I read that there was the issue of who should be the boss. If that has been sorted out, then we should look at the sincerity of government in the whole exercise. This is a government that said it knew the sponsors, yet, is unable to bring anybody to book. I was shocked the other day that the judge handling Senator Ali Ndume’s case in connection with his alleged leaking of information to the sect, said the Federal Government lawyers refused to appear in court. The judge appeared not comfortable with government’s seeming double-standard in the whole matter. How do you explain that? So, before we condemn the military for not doing enough, we must find out the extent government wants to go in the whole thing,” Adah further explained.
Zebulon Agomuo
