The regular presence of the army chief in the military command centre, to give direct orders, and morale support to the fi ghting troops in the frontlines. One of army’s vital assets to achieving its aim – ending the war – is the deployment of a new set of Special Forces to the frontlines to complement the eff orts of the existing conventional troops. From the Nigerian Army Special Forces School, troops are trained as Special Forces. Th ey undergo special training on operational techniques in defeating enemies in asymmetry warfare. Already, the army is training new troops in the school ready to be inducted into the theater of operations. Recently, the COAS visited the school to boost the morale of the trainee troops, and to inspect combat vehicles to be deployed to the theater. “Th e COAS visit to us is a morale booster,” says Cpl. Uche Ephraim, a trainee in the school.
“Whenever, we see him around, our fi ghting spirit is high. I call him my General. We feel he is with us even in the frontlines. I remember one thing he said here in the fi eld: we should gear up to fi nish up. So, his coming will give us the impetus to fi nish up.” Boko Haram birth place Kanamma, a village in Yobe state, is about 10 kilometers to Niger Republic. It was believed to be the fi ght base of the Boko Haram terrorists, which at the time went by the appellation Al-Qaeda – after the international terrorists group founded by Usama bin Laden in Afghanistan – with its fi rst recruits mainly from the neighbouring communities within the border area. It was also gathered that it was from this location that it fi rst launched out to other areas. After staying for long in Kanamma, the group became entrenched, making it diffi cult to defeat. It was not until mid-2015 that Kanamma was liberated by troops, making it one of the last places liberated by the military.
After the captured, a military was stationed in Kanamma to provide security in the general area. Boko Haram technically defeated forever While addressing journalists after meeting with the Governor of Yobe state, Ibrahim Gaidam, the army chief said Boko Haram terrorists remains “technically defeated forever.” “It is heartwarming that our troops are fully deployed and they are keeping the area very safe,” he said “and that is what is expected of them across the theater. I think we are happy with the deployment. Defi nitely, we remain committed to the present state of our security commitment. Earlier during his visit to troops of 3 Division Tactical Command in Damaturu, Yobe State, Chief of Army Staff , Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, told the troops that that no time for them to rest yet, as they have to be resilient and focused to clear remnant of Boko Haram terrorists in the North east, which he said had devised a means of attacking isolated settlement in order to remain relevant. In every unit he visited, the army chief, took time to interact with the troops and listened to their complaints.
He also ensured that he fi nds solutions to some of the grievances immediately, while those he could not solve at that point were referred to appropriate offi cer in charge. He also promoted a soldier, Victor Essien, from Staff Sergeant to Warrant offi cer, after he found out that he was stagnated in a particular rank for long. Buratai also assured troops that their welfare and that of their families will always be taken care. Either ends the war Analysts are of the view that both the presidential directive to service chiefs to relocate to the military command center in North east and the Chief of Army Staff order to the Th eater Commander to capture the factional leader of the Boko Haram terrorists, dead or alive, within 40 days, are directed at achieving the same aim – to end terrorism in the North east.
