Buhari: It’s Shameful That The Military Has Not Crushed Boko Haram

Buhari: It’s Shameful That The Military Has Not Crushed Boko Haram

19 May 2015

Muhammadu Buhari

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja   Daji Sani in Yola and John Shiklam in Kaduna   

Nigeria's President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, has decried the inability of the military to crush the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east, declaring that it is shameful and unacceptable.

Speaking when the National Executive Council of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) paid him a courtesy visit in his Kaduna residence yesterday, Buhari said it is a shame that the military could not secure 14 out of the 774 local governments in the country.
Buhari’s declaration not withstanding, the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Rear Admiral Gabriel Okoi, believes that with proactive intelligence gathering, the war against terrorism will be won much faster.

This is just as Sabongari, a community in Adamawa State was attacked weekend, by the Boko Haram insurgents leading to the killing one man and the abduction of six women.

Buhari also condemned the recent attack on Maiduguri and the takeover of Marte town by the Boko Haram insurgents, saying that the lives and property of Nigerians must be protected by the military.

According to him, "The military has never been so incapacitated like now. It's a shame that the military cannot secure 14 Nigeria's local governments out of the 774 local governments in the country."

Buhari stressed further that what is more worrisome is the fact that Nigeria's military had to rely on South African mercenaries before achieving the recent success in the war against Boko Haram.

He restated that his administration would focus on three major areas — insecurity, the economy and job creation — as well as tackling the endemic corruption that has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation.

"My administration will concentrate on three major areas on assumption of office, that is insecurity, the economy/unemployment and corruption. We will ensure we nip the insecurity in bud.

"The Nigeria Army have to bring in South African mercenaries to enable them record the recent gains in the North-east," said Buhari.
He said further that his administration would make sure that every Nigerian lived within his earning, adding that "a situation where people live above their earnings will not be tolerated."

Earlier, the Chairman of ACF and former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomassie (rtd), said Nigerians voted for Buhari because they believed in his integrity,  transparency, accountability, honesty and commitment to security of lives and property.
Coomassie said Nigeria had never experienced the level of decay, the collapse of moral values and the high level of corruption, crime, unemployment and impoverishment of the citizenry like it happened in the last six years.

"Security has been the major concern especially in the North-east region which has been devastated by the insurgency caused by the Boko Haram.  And the energy which is the source of power and main driver of the economy requires serious and urgent attention," Coomassie said.

He added: "The current situation when SGF operates above ministers offends the laid down principles of accountability in governance."
But despite the dissatisfaction of Buhari on the military’s prolonged effort in crushing the insurgents, the Nigerian military has urged its personnel to redouble their efforts in providing “actionable intelligence” to assist in the Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency (CT COIN) operations.

The charge came with the assurance by the CDI, Rear Admiral Okoi, that the security challenges being faced by the country would soon be over.

He thus charged defence attaches to ensure that the activities of Boko Haram and their linkage with global terror and terror groups are well monitored, saying: "Failure to do that is at their own risk."

The charge by the CDI coincided with a re-launch of terrorist attack on Sabongari, an Adamawa village, where a man was killed and six women abducted.

Okoi expressed the belief that in no distant time, the security problems would have been dealt with adequately to bring peace to Nigerians and the West African sub-region as a whole.

"Let me at this juncture remind you all that to achieve acceptable peace in the continent you must double your efforts at providing actionable intelligence that will help in decision making," he said.

According to the CDI, the growing sophistication of the society coupled with increasing expectations from home and abroad requires a continuous re-appraisal of the military's operational tactics and methods of intelligence gathering in order to rise to the demands of the 21st ventury security environment.

Similarly, the intelligence chief dismissed as no news the claimed link between the Boko Haram terrorists and other global terror group such as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Okoi stated this yesterday in Abuja, while fielding questions from journalists at the opening ceremony of the Deputy Defence Advisers/Attaches/Librarians Training Conference.

He said the contributions of the participants during the interactive session would form a vital part of the Agency's feedback to the government with regards to repositioning their efforts at combating contemporary security challenges.

The military intelligence chief said that the theme for the conference: "Refocusing Activities of Nigeria's Defence Missions to meet Contemporary Security Challenges", was carefully selected to guide their deliberations to the current efforts at addressing the security challenges bedevilling the country and create an atmosphere for sustainable national security and development.

Okoi also declared that with the recent victories against Boko Haram and successful conduct of the general election, the general internal security problem, especially in the North-east had been drastically reduced.

"Let me remind you all", he said, "that we are at a very unique point in our national political life when for the first time in our democratic history an opposition is taking over the reins of government."

He noted: "It is unique and interesting as the international community will no doubt be looking forward to the roles Nigeria will play in the international arena with you as key players.

"This is coming at a time also when the security challenges which necessitated the increased involvement of the Nigerian Armed Forces in internal security operations has abated."

Meanwhile, after what looked like a sustained routing of the Boko Haram terrorist group leading to the destruction of their hideouts in the Sambisa forest and the liberation of many women and children, the insurgents appear to be regrouping and re-launching fresh attacks against the people.

Chairman of Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Maina Ularamu, has said that there was an attack by Boko Haram insurgents on Sabongari town in the local government wherein a man was killed and six women abducted.
Worried about the rebound of the terrorists, Ularamu thereby called on the federal government to provide more security following the renewed attacks on communities in the region.

The council boss urged the military not to relax in the fight against the insurgents in the area as he complained that the presence of the military are lacking in some parts of the local government which might put the insurgents on a vantage position to launch more attacks on the people.

He expressed worry that unless the insurgents are completely wiped out, they could start recruiting the youths into their notorious fold.
Sources in the community indicated that the insurgents ‎invaded the town on Saturday, forcing residents to flee into the bush.

A resident, who simply identified himself as Musa, said the insurgents arrived the village around 10 pm and shot several people, killing one and injuring many and destroyed many properties.

Musa explained that the insurgents took them unawares because for a while they had not experienced any attack since the area was liberated by the military from the control of the Boko Haram insurgents.

He said although many were able to escape from the onslaught of the insurgents because the people are security conscious and do not sleep with both eyes closed, but that they are always on the watch for the fear of being attacked by the insurgents.

Last week, not only did a young female suicide bomber launch an attack on Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, killing seven persons, the insurgents indeed recaptured Marte, a border town in Northern Borno State.