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The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, last week, expressed his displeasure with the performance of Nigerian soldiers in the war with Boko Haram at a workshop for middle level officers. He said the soldiers displayed a poor commitment to defend the country in almost every tasks they were assigned. “It is unfortunate but the truth is that almost every setback the Nigerian military has had in our operations in recent times can be traced to insufficient willingness to perform assigned tasks,” the general said.
Buratai’s views attracted a great deal of attention partly because he was the face of the war which has taken a huge toll on the country. It was easy to understand his frustrations. In July, it would be four years he assumed the position of Army chief. So much optimism greeted his appointment. The hope was he would end the war quickly. And when the President ordered the Army high command to move into the “theatre” of war, it was seen as a sign that the man had a great winning strategy. Four years later, there is no light at the end of the tunnel; no sign of victory in sight. On the contrary, Boko Haram is displaying very aggressive tendencies, attacking, not just soft targets, but hard military formations.
The war has gone on for 10 years. General Buratai is not the first leader to vent his frustrations with the performance of the country’s forces. We recall the former Governor of Adamawa State, Rear Admiral Murtala Nyako, who was so upset in 2014, heaped the blame on the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government.
Nyako, in his case, had some misgivings about how the war was being waged. He was pained by the 2014 attacks on Madagali, Michika (where he was whisked away mid-speech for his life) and Yadi-Buni where 29 students were killed in cold blood by Boko Haram. In obvious exasperation, he concluded that those incidents had ridiculed President Goodluck Jonathan’s claim of success against Boko Haram. The bad news is that Nyako’s observations became a pattern.
The most casual observer sees two major weaknesses each of them capable of crippling the military’s efforts in the war against the insurgents. If the soldiers are conflicted about the cause, they are unlikely to fight with the enthusiasm Gen. Buratai expects. After 10 years of war, the question of who funds Boko Haram has not been answered. It has been raised several times. The sponsors of Boko Haram remain a mystery and until they are known, it is a war without end. The soldiers are suspicious of everyone. But there is need to improve intelligence gathering on the sect. Boko Haram is a Nigerian group; its members speak Nigerian languages including Kanuri, yet after 10 years there is no victory in sight.
No army ever has all it needs. After the acquisition of the helicopter gunships all hope was that the war may be easier for our forces. We had hoped the Army would go into an offensive and finish the job and return the country to peace. We think it is time to do a serious reckoning of what is missing. Are our forces poorly equipped compared to the terrorists? Can they win a firefight if attacked suddenly? Are the men well led? Do they need more training? How good is their welfare scheme to encourage them to work harder? How quickly does help get to the family of lost soldiers?
We urge the President to do a wide-ranging review of the progress of this war and come up with a new strategy. It is unwise to continue the ostrich game.
