I was old enough to follow Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s prosecution of the (civil) war that brought Biafra down to its knees within 30 months. The federal troops recorded successes in all sectors of the war. Perhaps, the hottest sector was at Ore in the battle to retake the Mid-west after the rebel forces overran the place, compelling the military governor, David Ejoor, to bicycle his way to Lagos from Benin.
I love our military. The closest time I came to being part of the system was in the mid-seventies when I responded to an advertisement placed by the Nigerian Navy. My letter of interview was signed by the late Admiral Augustus Aikhomu. I reported at the Naval Base, Apapa, Lagos, where I and the other candidates were camped for about a week. Even though we were to join the system’s public relations corps, we were drilled in physical fitness. Most of my colleagues did not do so well because of their status as barristers at booze.
My football and athletics background stood me out and the officer in charge was beginning to like me and had looked forward to my joining the naval family. But I disappointed him in the end because by the time we got to the oral interview stage, my interest in the exercise had ebbed away. The ordeal that came with waking up before the crack of dawn to start the day’s drill pissed me off. I loved my sleep. I still do. However, I had to hang on to the end of the exercise because I needed to collect the allowance to enable me to travel back to my base in Zaria where I was a young reporter with the New Nigerian Newspapers.
I have no regret frustrating that naval ambition and the loss of interest did not take away my admiration for our military. The military defines the strength of a nation. Our military has excelled in international peace-keeping operations all over the globe… in Congo, Lebanon, Somalia, Liberia (with ECOMOG) and lately, Mali when the Tuareg militants overran northern Mali.
I was in Jos when the first major ethno-religious upheaval broke out in 2001. Although the crisis festered for a very long period of time, the military was on top of the situation and contained it professionally. Presently, the sporadic killings by (unknown) gunmen are confined to some local government areas neighbouring the state capital like Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Jos South.
There was a day in the month of November of that year when the residents of the Tin City, the Home of Peace and Tourism, had their hearts in their mouths as news spread to every home that some fully armed invaders were massing on Jos from the Nasarawa Gwom axis. The city reverberated as the military welcomed the invaders to the mountainous area with machine gun and artillery fires. We were so proud of the effective way the soldiers responded to the invasion.
When a military like ours comes under ridicule as it is seen in the ongoing war against the insurgents, we should be very worried. Reports of soldiers taking to their heels for fear of being overrun by the heavily armed insurgents or going missing after the sect’s attacks portend danger for the rest of us, irrespective of where we live.
The recent assassination of an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Auwal Adam Albani, his wife and son in Zaria by the Boko Haram elements is an indication that the sect can hit any target that catches its fancy. So, Abuja should not sleep with both eyes closed simply because the insurgents have confined their attacks to the North-east axis, lately.
As I stated in this space two weeks ago, the Boko Haram has become a franchise for international terrorism. Terrorists breathing the same ideological air with Boko Haram might have keyed into the struggles, supplying them with sophisticated weapons, logistics and cash. It boggles the mind to read that the insurgents carry out their raids sometimes in a convoy of dozens of Hilux vehicles.
During President Goodluck Jonathan’s first and last visit to Borno and Yobe states about a year ago, he stated that he would not fold his arms and watch his soldiers molested by anybody.
Today, the commander-in-chief seems not to care a hoot about their predicament. He is more at home with politicking, whereas his soldiers are not only molested but also killed or abducted (?) as reported in the papers early in the week. No fewer than 12 soldiers were said to be missing in action when the insurgents attacked Mafa town in Borno state last Sunday, killing at least 33 people. Pray, what is Jonathan doing about our military being humbled all over the place? Apparently nothing! The insurgents have now become so daring in their operation that they serve notices of attack on communities, a reminiscence of the modus operandi of adventurous armed bandits of those days.
Be that as it may, methinks we need help. Our military is fighting a war they are not used to. Terror war is a different ball game. Nigeria has helped other countries in restoring peace. It will not be out of place to seek help from those countries that have through this same route, more so since the insurgents are known to be having the backing of international terrorists. I am aware that some of our security forces have undergone counter-terrorism training but the impact is not felt in the terror war.
Lately, there was this talk about the Boko Haram fighters blackmailing the Cameroonian government that they would turn against that country if it cooperates with Nigeria by denying them operational base. Until this week, all appeared to be cozy between the insurgents and our next door neighbour. The report that the insurgents have turned against their host, killing seven people is a positive development for Nigeria. Their attention will now be divided as they engage the two countries.
It is not very clear why the insurgents attacked their “benefactors”. But there was no indication that Cameroon was cooperating with Nigeria in the terror war if the story published in this newspaper of Tuesday, March 4, 2014 is any guide. An on-line news medium, Star Africa, was quoted as saying that an angry Nigerian military was threatening to cross the border and go after the terrorists if Yaounde “fails to respond positively to Abuja’s request for cooperation.
It is in the best interest of Cameroon to team up with Nigeria and make the axis hostile for the insurgents. By so doing, it would be pouring water on its own beard since Nigeria’s beard is already on fire.
