By Abiodun
Israel
“If any
Nigerian or member of the international community had doubts about the
sincerity and commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to the rescue of our
precious daughters abducted by Boko Haram insurgents at Government Secondary
School, Chibok on April 14, 2014, the rescue of all other abducted Nigerians
and very importantly, his sincerity in working towards ending the Boko Haram
insurgency, such doubts must by now be laid to rest.” — Governor Kashim Shettima
of Borno State
These comments by Borno State Governor, Alhaji
Kashim Shettima have captured the electrified mood of celebrations in Nigeria
and the International community over the release of 21 Chibok schoolgirls
captured by Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) on April 14, 2014. Based on
painstaking negotiations anchored by the International Red Cross and the Swiss
Government, these girls were released by their captors in the town of Banki on
the fringes of Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.
In Nigeria’s history, the nation has never lived
with prolonged emotional trauma, which glued both friends and foes like the
incident of the abduction of the 276 school girls in Chibok imposed on the
nation. It triggered local and international outrage. World leaders took turns
to renounce the act of the terrorists as barbaric and uncivilized.
Helplessness of the Federal Government of Nigeria
(FGN) under the then President Goodluck Jonathan, which showed more interest in
his re-election campaigns exacerbated the tension. The birth of
#BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) campaigners led by Mrs. Obi Ezekwesili, ignited fresh
trouble for the government which was scolded daily for refusal to initiate
action for their release.
Centrally,
there were other issues, but President Muhammedu Buhari as presidential
candidate of the APC in the 2015 general elections premised his campaigns on
two main cardinal issues. He spoke vibrantly and angrily about ending Boko
Haram insurgency and ensure the release of the abducted Chibok girls as well as
ridding Nigeria of her pervasive and debilitating corruption.
Nigerians trusted him and overwhelmingly voted him
into power. In power, President Buhari has made no pretensions about the issue
of defeating BHTs and securing the release of the Chibok girls and the launch
of a deafening anti-graft war.
Thus, Buhari started with the re-organization of the
Nigerian Military High Command; procurement of the arms and ammunitions, prompt
payment of allowances of troops in the battle front to boost their morale and
reaching out to the international community to plead their assistance to battle
terrorism.
The coming on board of the Chief of Army Staff
(COAS) Gen. Tukur Buratai among other Service Chiefs renewed fresh songs on
ending the Boko Haram insurgency. Specifically, Buratai promised to end
insurgency in the Northeast by December 2015. Nigerians waited doubtfully
because other Service Chiefs had similarly bragged in the past, but it came to
naught.
But the new face of leadership of the Nigerian
military had proven to be committedly different. By the December 2015 deadline
the COAS promised, tales of BHTs raids of villages, communities and bombing of
cities in the North turned into the narratives of terrorists fleeing, killed in
combat, captured or surrendering to Nigerian military. Reclaimed territories
from BHTs began to experience normalcy and deserted communities breathed fresh
air.
President
Buhari announced to the congregation of the last United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) in New York that Nigeria has substantially decimated BHTs. The
President further disclosed that their capacity to freely launch unbridled
attacks on targeted locations has been diminished to occasional attacks on soft
targets.
It gladdens
the heart that President Buhari has kept faith with this campaign covenant with
Nigerians by defeating Boko Haram insurgency. His cake has been iced with the
gradual release of the Chibok girls from the claws of terrorists. It has raised a strong hope that the
remaining more than 100 of the Chibok girls still in their captivity are nearer
liberation too, as hinted by Buhari in Germany thus;
“In getting these 21 out, we hope we will get enough
intelligence to go about securing the rest of them.”
What is indispensable in the release of the Chibok
girls and the over 20, 000 Boko Haram abductees the Nigerian military has
secured freedom at intervals is testimony of a hard working Nigerian military.
It has worked in conjunction with the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF)
and the complementary roles of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to deflate
the once enigmatic and agile terrorists from their safe enclaves in the
Northeast.
However, it must be borne in mind that a blood
thirsty beast, who is armed to the teeth, would not just voluntarily quit his
trade for the fun of it or because he has become a saint; repented upon his
sudden discovery of God Almighty and His love. He relapses because of knowledge
of his constant haunting by a superior power, potent enough to extinguish him
and his generation.
The Nigerian army under Buratai has been very
instrumental to instilling this psychology fear into the remnants of BHTs,
which accounts for their discovery of the futility in the continued caging of
the abductees. Other arms of the
military also performed wonderful roles.
But soldiers consistently and exceptionally bore the
brunt. They chased terrorists on foot, combat motorbikes and vehicles. They implanted themselves in
communities for surveillance, had their command barracks attacked, detonated
terrorists bombs, spent nights and days in forests and on roads at checkpoints,
braved sun and rain as well as sacrificed their dear lives in the battle
against insurgency.
Accordingly, Nigerian soldiers and other arms of the
military deserve unrestrained respect and encouragement to keep the spirit
alive. Buratai thinks and works round the clock on how best to sustain the
tempo of triumph over insurgency.
Last month, Buratai mulled with the idea of
launching another phase of the battle against terrorists he code named
“OPERATION RESCUE FINALE,” designed to rescue every Nigerian still in the
captivity of BHTs. These are rays of positive hope.
Dispassionately, Nigerian soldiers have offered
themselves as a major springboard for this cause and deserve encouragement. The
enormity of their sacrifice to terror war cannot be quantified. And not only in
Nigeria, but the international community has lauded their priceless
contributions to the liberation of an endangered nation. As the world
appreciates their gallantry, let it serve as a stimulus to greater performance
and enliven their resolve to do more for the country.
Also, families of the Chibok girls still held in
detention should be consoled by President Buhari’s assurances that the return
of the 21 girls would definitely lead to the return of the rest still in
captivity.
Abiodun Israel writes
from University of Ibadan.
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