BY JOHN NWOKOCHA.
The war against Boko Haram entered its crucial moments when on April 15, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff who doubles as the leader of the federal government’s counter-insurgency operations vowed to engage the insurgents eyeball to eyeball on the battle grounds of the Sambisa forests and all places of hideout of the terror group. In just one week of what can rightly be described as Force for Force strategy of the Nigerian military which unleashed heavy assaults on targeted caves and hideouts of the terrorists the game changed and the overwhelmed terrorists along with their sponsors could foretell the war is lost. In a single operation of the LAFIA DOLE coordinated by none other than the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Buratai, around Timbuktu triangle about 134 insurgents were reportedly decimated.
Any one conversant with BokoHaram activities in north eastern Nigeria and elsewhere in the country would understand that a drastic military action is urgently needed to combat the insurgency that has over stayed in the country. Over the past 20 years Boko Haram brutally held the sway. The group incessantly unleashed terror on the military as well as soft targets, killing, maiming and destroyed public and private facilities particularly in Borno and Yobe states. The bloodthirsty group sacked and occupied villages and communities as they happily and mindlessly detonated bombs in sacred worship places and markets. Consequently, hundreds of thousands victims were displaced a situation that resulted into creation of camps for the internally displaced persons for succour. Even then, intermittently, Boko Haram invaded the camps, wrecked havocs and left serious human costs in its wake.
In another instance they swung into abductions. The kidnap by a faction of Boko Haram of about 110 Dapchi school girls in Yobe state, on March 25, 2018 and 276 Chibok school girls in Borno, on April 14 2014, respectively, would remain unforgettable.
Most troubling is just when the Nigerian troops had finished any clinical operations implying that the terrorists had been degraded, their commanders would emerge in live videos issuing worse threats. The Nigeria military had in December 2016 announced the fall of Sambisa forest after the capture of Camp Zairo, the supposed strong hold of Boko Haram, where its leader, Abubakar Shekau, is believed to have been hiding. However many people are dismayed because soon after reports about Boko Haram being degraded by the troops went on air they returned with worse offensive. Unfortunately the seeming myth around their strength was played up so they waxed stronger, even fiercely.
Keen watchers of their activities hardly could tell with confidence who the public should trust in the circumstance.
But there are allegations of conspiracy theory in which some members of the occupied villages and communities are accused of complicity in the ‘success’ Boko Haram achieved.
For instance, the attack on Magumeri, a village 52 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital according to Nigerian Army source was aided by some residents. The source said the army gathered intelligence that some residents of the village largely helped those that attacked Magumeri.
The Magumeri incident happened days after Boko Haram released a video showing armed men in hoods executing three men who were labelled government ‘informants’. With the allegation of cover up by the civil populace the war assumed a dangerous dimension, hence the terrorists pursued unconventional methods in order to gain upper hand. Part of this method is deliberate circulation of live videos of their bloodletting deeds with their commanders talking tough and even threatening worse terror.
But on April 15 Buratai vowed this would end. Buratai noted that the fight against Boko Haram terrorists has lingered for too long and that the time had come to finally root the group out of the country.
Right from the start the gallant chief of army staff has demonstrated unmatchable courage and bravery of a military commander. Those conversant with conventional war would not argue the claim that dealing with terrorism is a different war entirely and for this reason military intelligence experts in unconventional wars would recommend a revolutionary approach if the war is to be won by the Nigerian troops because of bag of tricks being adopted by the terrorists.
Against this backdrop, the Chief of Staff had said unreservedly “Gentlemen officers and men of the Nigerian Army! Gallant officers and men of Operation LAFIYA DOLE! We are right here right now to carry out our solemn and righteous constitutional duties. We are here to flush out these criminals who have been terrorizing and killing innocent and law abiding Nigerians”.
Interestingly, one month down the line the terrorists are facing the heat as Buratai’s speech boasted the morale and gallantry of the Nigeria military. Just shortly after the feat recorded through the Operation KANTA NA JIMLAN assault led by the CoS during which about 134 terrorists were killed indications are that the leadership of the insurgents are completely in disarray.
Basking in the success, the troops have intensified the campaign on rooting up insurgents various fronts and thus setting the conditions for the final engagements.
Said the military source, “The ongoing subsidiary operation in the North-east Theatre of Operation codenamed ‘Operation Kantana Jimlan’ being conducted as part of the conclusive phase of Operation Lafiya Dole is already recording monumental successes”
To this end, in spite of its multiplicity into about seven sub sects and mutation into Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) and all the terrorists’ unconventional tactics the public can confidently tell that the end of the terrorists is a matter of days.
In sustaining the success the troops in another instance within the same period scores of Boko Haram and ISWAP targets in Buk in Damboa LGA of Borno State were engaged with precision which resulted in the killing 56 insurgents.
Fortunately the outcomes of these operations I all the strongholds of the terrorists is that the Nigerian troops have caged them leaving the remnant members of the group to contemplate suicide or head towards Chad. In the circumstance, not long ago, their commander Abubakar Shekau lamented publicly expressing vexation about the increasing number of foot soldiers he is losing to the Nigerian military. Recall vividly that this was Shekau who mindlessly unleashed ferocious attacks on the country. This implies that even the strongman knows that the battle is lost. Indeed for some time now the kingpin has suddenly lost his tormenting and intimidating voice which he usually in the euphoria of his stage managed triumphs release to an already cowed Nigerian public. The ongoing demystifying of the kingpins of the caves and mountain tops of the Sambisa forests appears to be the ultimate onslaught because there is nowhere today in Nigeria Boko Haram can confidently boast of occupying not to talk of detonate bombs, unleash arsons, abductions and sundry bloodletting crimes that used to be their trademarks across the country.
Similarly, his colleague, Musab Al Barnewi has gone cold. Barnewi’s name was synonymous with terror. To some observers true meaning of Barnewi is terror judging from his vicious strength and intense passion for leveling wantonly military facilities- armoured personnel carrier and so forth. He, it was whose special mission is focused on military formations and facilities just to give a semblance of someone whose insurgency campaign is benevolence by pretending to spare civilians. But no. Today many have realized he is not the benevolent picture he often presented. In reality it’s a dangerous decoy that covers his ferociously assaults on the people. He and his tricks have been caged for final demolition by the Nigerian troops amid high spirit.
The feat was replicated recently at another operation at Buni Gari, Yobe state where about 105 insurgents met their waterloo during an engagement with the now motivated Nigerian soldiers advancing victoriously forward with superior fire power at their disposal. Beside this, within the same period about 16 high profile informants of the terrorists were nabbed giving the army a sweet triumph.
What is more, in the serial victories of the Nigerian soldiers each passing day, the rank of terrorists’ launchers depletes in one way or another, through the neutralization force of Nigerian soldiers during heavy combats or insurgents submitting themselves in surrender to the army. From the look of the developments it is discernibly certain that the Clearance Operations lately by the Nigerian army have been disastrous for the terrorist groups. And Nigerians can have a sigh of relief as peace reigns.
In one of his motivational statements to the troops, Buratai had said “In this our honorable mission and endeavor, there is no room for the chicken-hearted. The Nigerian Army of today is for the committed, disciplined, patriotic and selfless officers and soldiers which I believe you all are. There is no room for cowardice and no room for the lily-livered ones. Therefore, we must go all out to stop and eliminate these criminals. We must do it now. There is no better time than now”.
At another occasion he had encouraged the previously devastated communities saying: “We are here, we will not leave this camp until we substantially degrade these criminals. By God’s willing, we shall be there with you no going back once we commence.
We will be with you in the valleys, on the hill, in the jungle, in the river and so on. As I speak now, we have some elements that are providing us necessary intelligence and once we start, no going back”.
In evaluating the operations that brought about the monumental successes by the Nigerian army some people will disagree that Boko Haram have been completely whipped out of the country. However, everyone will accept the fact that with the cooperation of everybody there will be no hiding place for the terrorists in the country and the elusive peace will be achieved.
Understandably some people still paint the army with tarred brush all in the name of negative propaganda to give it a bad name because of few bad elements within the military and dangerously assumed common emotion in public space, but then nothing can rubbish the records of this reengineered military as the successes are factual. Therefore, while troops are consolidating their victories and mopping up it is imperative for all the people to rally round and support the army for final victory songs. And for the military, all wrong intelligence assessments must stop and fifth columnists be flushed out without further delays.
NWOKOCHA writes from Abuja
