During his visit to the Army Super Camp, Faskari over the weekend, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai promised to remain ruthless and brutal on insurgents and bandits all over the country. He said, “Let me assure you, we shall continue to be ruthless with criminals. We are determined to work harder along with the support of other sister agencies to achieve peace in Nigeria”.
Apparently trying to restore the waning confidence of Nigerians in the military, this is not the first time the military high command is making statements of victory or greater commitment, with little or no results achieved.
His address laid emphasis on two critical points that have negatively affected the success of the war against insurgency. The military should understand the enormity of the challenge facing them. The Boko Haram are fighting against the state, to claim part of it, and the whole thereafter, or to make the country permanently ungovernable. Some people who subscribe to this madness, or who tacitly support this agenda, including those erroneously granted amnesty, are secretly shielding the insurgents.
To this end, the COAS has called on civilians and soldiers alike to make available useful information to help the military rid the country of criminal elements from their hiding places. That also goes to show that there are criminal elements in government or outside of it, who are sabotaging government’s efforts and huge expenditure to subdue insurgency.
In his words, the insurgents are not spirits. In other words, they cannot survive without support and protection from the network that is using or shielding them. For this, the army chief said a collaboration had been established with other intelligence agencies to see the end of insurgency. President Buhari should also walk his talk by equipping the military with state of the art combating gadgets, to do their work effectively.
John Daniel Obioma.