Insecurity: Boko Haram fight has lasted longer than civil war – Obasanjo

Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has decried the country’s lingering insecurity, saying the fight against Boko Haram insurgents has lasted longer than the civil war, which took place from 1967 to 1970.

Obasanjo, who spoke during the Toyin Falola interviews’ conversations live-streamed on social media, stated that there is nothing wrong with Nigeria’s military personnel seeking training in countries where insurgency has been stopped.

Referencing his experience with the Niger Delta militancy, Obasanjo added that the tendency of security personnel colluding with insurgents cannot be ruled out.

“There are four important items, and I hope that those who are in charge — military, executive, and legislature — know what they are doing.

“First, there is training. There are different types of training. The military is trained for conventional war.

“If the people you are dealing with are fleeting targets or living among your people, you will need different types of training to deal with them.

“Among the countries that have done that fairly successfully is Colombia. Should we invite them to train our people? There is no shame in that. It is a specialised type of training.

“There is the equipment. The equipment to fight that type of warfare. It is different from the equipment for conventional warfare. The other one is intelligence. You need absolute intelligence. Can others trust us with the intelligence that they have?

“The fourth one is technology. These four have to come together and do other things internally.

“Then you ask the military to be the one buying equipment. It is not done. The whole thing is an industry. It is an industry.

“Civil war lasted for 30 months. Although we thought it would last for six months. But this fight against insurgents and criminals has lasted for almost 15 years,” he stated.