Insecurity:We cannot Solve The Problem Alone-Wike

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  • Nigerian Military Had Repackaged Itself And Making Lots Of Progress – Enenche

By Stephen Ubanna

When Babagana Zulum, a Professor and governor of  the north east state  of Borno, suggested to President Muhammadu  Buhari, a retired army General, to engage the services of Mercenaries  in prosecuting the insurgency war in the state, Adamawa and  Yobe, the two other states in the region under the insurgency atatcks, nobody took him serious. 

Zulum may have done his homework and found out that the  only way the the Katsina state born Nigerian President  could  end insecurity in the north east , home of BokoHaram, and north west, where the bandits  are terrorising  the residents of Zamfara, Kaduna and Katsina, the President home state, is to engage the services of the mercenaries  who discharge their duties  based o Contract. The January 15, 2021, Armed Forces, Remembrance Day , may have provided opportunities for people to renew their call on the need for the  government to engage  external forces to solve the problem of insecurity in the country.

Wike: Governor of Rivers State, Urges Buhari To Sack The Service Chiefs

One of such people, was Nyesom Wike, the governor of oil rich Rivers state. Wike, who could not hide his feelings , had told the Nigerian President ‘’to stop  pretending as if the government could solve the country’s insecurity problem alone’’  but should  ‘’seek  external help to effectively  fight the insurgents’’ making life uncomfortable for people in the north east.

 He may have alluded to the use of Mercenaries, that had been recommended  by Zulum, described as the Nigerian weeping governor, because of the incessant attacks  of the insurgents in the state and the resultant  loss of lives of  both security operatives, particular, soldiers and civilians.

The Chambers Dictionary, had  described the  Mercenary as a’’ soldier hired into foreign service and motivated  by the hope  of reward’’. Described as a soldier of fortune, in several  quarters, the Mercenary  takes part in a military conflict as an outsider to the conflict and not  a member  of any other  official military  for money  and other forms of payment  other than for political gains.

The Rivers governor, who may have won the heart of Rochas Okorocha, a former governor of Imo state and now a  Senator, Federal Republic of Nigeria, elected  on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC,  and who had described him as one of the ‘’most Controversial governors in Nigeria because of his political rascality , doggedness and astuteness’’, had said that there is need for the good people in APC and PDP,to join forces to rebuild Nigeria.  He may have though of teaming up with Wike and good people in both the ruling APC , and the Oposition , PDP, to team up to form another Mega party , that would slug it out  with the existing Mega parties in the upcoming 2023 election.

Buratai: CAS

 Okorocha, who Commissioned the Rumueche /Rumuakunde  Ohna  Wuse road in Emohua local government  area of the state on the invitation of the Rivers governor had unbarred his mind on him. True to his impression of the Rivers governor, he had exhibited the political rascality , doggedness and astuteness, during the January 15, 2021, Armed Forces Remembrance Day, when  he urged the Nigerian President  ‘’to change Gabriel Olonisakin, an army General and the Chief of Defense Staff, CDS, and the service Chiefs, Comprising of Yusuf Tukur Buratai, a Lt. General and Chief of Army Staff, CAS, Sadiq  Sadiq Abubakar, An Air Marshall and Chief of Air Staff and Ibok Ekwe Ibas, a Vice Admiral and Chief of Naval Staff.

He had told the retired Army General and Commander –In-Chief , C-In-C, of the Nigerian  Armed Forces,  that the   government must ‘’end  the killings  in the country  in the shortest possible   time  by changing the service Chiefs which will  allow  for the introduction  of new strategies  to fight in insurgents and the Bandits operation in the north east and north west geo-political regions’’.

The Presidency may have known  that the insurgency  a war in the north east is dragging on for too long, going by the Statement of Femi Adesina, Senior Special Assistant to the Nigerian President on Media and Publicity,  that the  victory  over the myriad  of problems  in the country   can only come from God.  Adesina had urged Nigerians  that ‘’rather  than grumble  and complain or criticise the government , they should channel  their energies  to Prayer’’.

  He may have  spoken the mind of the retired Army General, who had made a similar Statement recently that’’only God can effectively police the border routes between Nigeria and Niger Republic’’, as Hameed Ali, a retired army Colonel and Comptroller General , Nigerian Customs Service and his men have failed to do so as Small and Light arms had continued to flood the country through the  numerous  illegal border routes between the two countries and which also includes smuggling of   the Asian country of Thailand grown  par boiled rice.

Recall that  the Lawan Ahmad led APC, dominated Senate, Zulum, and the Borno elders had repeated called for the sack of the current service chiefs  to pave way for the introduction of fresh hands  with fresh ideas to  end the insurgency in the north east but that was how far they could go. The closeness between the Nigerian President and the service Chiefs  during the January 15, 2021, Armed Forces Remembrance Day , in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to honor  the nation’s fallen  and living heroes, may have sent a message to Nigerians that Buhari still have unflinching Confidence on them, an indication that those calling for the sack of the service Chiefs may have to sheath  their sword.

 Bashir Salihi Magashi, a retired Major General and minister of Defense, may have  given an insight ‘’to the thinking in government circles when he  ‘’urged Nigerians  to support  the military  to boost their morale  to win  the various  ongoing Campaigns  in the country’’.  The minister  had said that Nigerians  were critical stakeholders  in maintaining  a ‘’well mobilized  professionally  responsible  and responsible  military that would  be capable  of safeguarding  the nation’s  territorial  integrity and sovereignty.

He disclosed that ‘’buy-in  by the public  in the form of speaking  well of  the military  would energise  the nation’s fighting forces to the battles’’.

       John Enenche, An  army Major General  and Coordinator  Defence Media Operations,  believes that the insurgency war is as good as have been won.  He has his reason.  He had said that  the Islamic Fundamentalist group, BokoHaram and The Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, ‘’no longer have authority  over any part of  the north east’’, particular, Borno, where ‘’the insurgents once  had a stronghold’’.

 According to him, ‘’what the country now has are remnants and weakened  BokoHaram and ISWAP ,fighters’’.  The army General had said  that the insurgents  are moving  from bush to enclave and enclave to bush and ‘’no longer  have any authority  or sovereignty  on any territory in the north east and by extension to Nigeria’’.

Air Task Force Gunship On Raid Of Insurgents Hideout In The Bush

Perhaps, this might have given the  operation Lafyle Dole Air Task Force,   operatives at  Nuwar, in the  Bama area of Borno state   to carry out series of confirmatory  aerial surveillance  missions , where  they had discovered  cluster  of huts  and other structures  in the settlement being used  ‘’to conduct  Combat training  for the  terrorists on a regular basis’’.The fallout was that the    Air Task Force of the Operation Layle Dole had  dispatched  an appropriate  force package  of the  Nigerian Air Force, NAF,  helicopter gunships for a night raid  on the location in the location.

 Enenche, the Coordinator of the Defense Media information had said  that the helicopter gunships had  hit in the target area  which had led to the neutralization  of several  BokoHaram fighters  as well as the destruction  of some of their structures, including the insurgents armoury.

 He could beat his chest  that  the armed forces  of Nigerian had made  a lot of  progress over the  last  year in the area   of  ‘’packaging itself to further the defense of the country’’.  This may have informed why the Nigerian President is not in a hurry to  sack the service Chiefs.

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