Not a few Nigerians seemed to have been jolted when the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, said that terrorism and terrorist groups could not be eliminated alone by the military unless religious bodies and organisations in the country come to the “forefront of this spiritual battle.”
The Army chief noted that the focus must be religious groups interfacing on addressing the ideologies which fuelled the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists.
Buratai made the remark penultimate Monday in Abuja during a spiritual warfare seminar at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre with the theme, “Countering insurgency and violent extremism in Nigeria through spiritual warfare.”
The Army chief, who was represented by the Chief of Administration, Maj. Gen. Sani Yusuf, urged Islamic and Christian clerics across the Army formations to join the fight against terrorism, and reorient the people against negative ideologies.
Buratai said, “It is easier to defeat Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists than their ideology because, while we degrade the terrorists and their havens, the narrative of the ideology grows the group.
“Therefore, communities, families, and groups should join in the fight and narratives to reject and prevent the ideologies of the terrorists and extremist groups. Religious bodies and organisations in particular who interface regularly with the grassroots should be at the forefront of this spiritual battle and fashion out ways of stepping up their roles.
“The fight against terrorism, Boko Haram and ISWAP, as well as other security threats, cannot be left to the troops in the battle field alone. Yes, we will do our duties, but the need to tackle groups through spiritual warfare and re-orientating the followers against the ideology is also a necessity. It is a well-known fact that terrorism and terrorist groups cannot be totally eliminated by mainly military actions.
“This means focusing our efforts on the underlying narratives through ideologies that are employed by these terrorists to lure innocent citizens to their fold. The need to defeat the ideologies of Boko Haram and ISWAP is based on the awareness that it is the ideologies that enhance their resources and help to recruit new fighters to their fold and as such; kill their ideology and the terrorist movement withers and dies.”
The Army chief added that religious leaders and clerics who regularly interface with members of the society must “fashion out ways of stepping up (their) roles, remembering that the fight against terrorism is a collective responsibility.”
But the Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Mr Debo Adeniran, flayed Buratai for “recommending a fetish approach to prosecuting a physical war.” Adeniran said Buratai’s statement was an admission that he no longer had anything to offer and should be replaced by the resident.
Also, Adebayo Oladeji, the Special Assistant (Media and Communications) to the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Samson Ayokunle, urged Buhari to sack the army chief. He said CAN has been consistently calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to overhaul the security system and replace the service chiefs.
However, Ustaz Christian Okonkwo, the Director of Islamic Centre, Afikpo, Ebonyi state, an affiliate of the International Islamic Relief Organisation based in Saudi Arabia, said Buratai was right.
The former Director of Administration, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, said, “People get indoctrinated by the preaching and teaching of a set of religion or the other or by their attachment to their particular tribe or race. So, if we have to change the narrative, it just has to come from the same source to which these people have been indoctrinated because they have a very serious sentiment to that religion or ethnic group.”
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad lll-led Jam’atu Nasril Islam also backed Buratai.
It is instructive that Buratai’s postulate is a mere reiteration of an earlier statement by the chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas. The naval chief had said in that for the Nigerian Navy to be victorious in battle, it needs spiritual help. Ibas said that a balanced level of spiritual maturity is necessary for military personnel to maintain the required level of conceptual and moral component of his fighting power.
Speaking to military officers in Abuja on May 30, Ibas encouraged them to look to God in their struggles. “The establishment of appropriate places of worship within the barracks is equally as germane as the provision of living accommodation and other administrative and operational commitments.
“This is because a balanced level of spiritual maturity is necessary for military personnel to maintain the required level of conceptual and moral component of his fighting power. This will enable him to retain a rational balance needed for the effective employment of his physical competencies to achieve victory in battle”.
It is, therefore, incontrovertible that besides the adequate provision of arms and ammunition as well as the motivation of troops, spiritual warfare is also an important component in the successful prosecution of wars, particularly insurgency which highly fetish and diabolical. Consequently, we enjoin all Nigerians to hearken to the clarion call of Buratai in praying fervently for the triumph of the military over the Boko Haram insurgents who have been terrorising the country, especially the North-east, for over 10 years.
