With spiralling activities of Boko Haram Islamist terror group, President Goodluck Jonathan and former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, want the military to deal decisive defeat to the insurgents.
They both charged the Nigerian Armed Forces, especially the Army to take immediate and necessary action to reassert its capacity to be the pre-eminent force in the country by flushing out Boko Haram terrorists from every part of the country.
Jonathan said, “At this juncture let me reiterate that the nation continues to look up to the military particularly the Nigerian Army, at this challenging moment in our history”.
Jonathan was represented by the Minister of Defence, Lt-Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd) on Tuesday at the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Annual Conference 2014 in Ibom Le Meridien Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
According to Jonathan, Nigerians depend on the armed forces for the security, peace and stability of the country.
The president however commended the bravery of the military in the ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the North-east and assured Nigerians that the state of insecurity would soon become a thing of the past.
He said, “As you deliberate on contemporary security challenges facing our nation and re–strategise to meet them, I am convinced that you will apply the traditional vigour and dedication, for which the Army is noted, to bear on achieving the objectives of this conference.
“Therefore, I am confident that the nation will sooner than later overcome the current challenges and usher in a new era of peace, unity, progress and development.
“As we pray for the repose of the departed souls, we must remain resolute to address those issues that will make every part of our dear country a safe and secure place to honour their memories and enhance our national development”.
Speaking , Gowon tasked the Nigerian Army to as a matter of urgency, retrieve every inch of the Nigerian territory occupied by the terrorists.
The war-time military Head of State, General Gowon, on his part, said the situation where soldiers are being reported to have either abandoned their weapons to the rag-tag terrorists, fled the battlefield or fled into neighbouring countries for safety from the hands of Boko Haram terrorists was unacceptable.
For him, soldier should live up to the spirit of their profession, by exhibiting courage and intrepidity in the face of all odds.
“To be honest with you, I have heard of stories about our soldiers running away in the face of fire and abandoning their weapons, soldiers throwing away their uniforms and equipment running away to neighbouring countries and even handing over their weapon to these countries.”Could this be true? I have known our soldiers to be braver, gallant and more professional than that,” he said.
He noted that during the critical period in the civil war, he had limited ammunition of only 500,000 rounds to prosecute the war but was later helped by private citizens to acquire 15 million rounds of ammunition within a short period of asking, and charged the military to maximize the $1 billion loan to procure the equipment required to prosecute the war.
Gowon stated the fact that ordinary Nigerians “in high and low places” have expressed reservations that they are not happy that their military who ought to defend their territorial integrity and protect people from internal and external threat appear to be losing ground to the Boko Haram terrorists.
According to Gowon “The pictures of Boko Haram seen, apart from being mounted on Toyota vehicles, they look rag tag and are certainly not a threat to a well trained and better soldiers like the Nigerian Army.”
He further charged the COAS, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, and commanders in the Nigerian Army to urgently correct the negative perception about the soldiers who have in the past had records of professionalism and competence.
“Are we short of equipment? We can buy directly from friendly and obliging governments as I did during the civil war. Yes, we can also buy from other sources (which is called or referred to as black market), but, do it properly,” he said.
Gowon however assured the soldiers: “I have not lost confidence in our armed forces. I want you to retrieve your honour by reversing some of these lapses into successes, losses into victories; negative opinions into positive opinions.
“I charge you to go all out to flush those insurgents (Boko Haram) out of our territories all the way right back to where they came from. That is the task that the Armed Forces, especially the army must do, must accomplish without delay. I trust you will win.”
In the same vein, Minimah in his opening remarks assured the country of the Army’s cardinal duty to defend Nigeria from external aggression, maintain its territorial integrity, suppress insurrection and provide aid to civil authorities.
He noted that in the last 10 months since assumption of office, while some operational successes were recorded in some engagements, the Nigerian Army suffered setbacks in others, adding that the conference offers them opportunity to deliberate and re–strategise for better outcomes in future operations.
Minimah noted that: “The upsurge of terrorism and violent extremism in the North-east of our country has remained the most significant threat facing our dear country today”.
Consequently, he declared that the conference would be undertaking a review of ongoing operations in the North-east with a view to bringing a speedy end to the reign of terror unleashed on innocent Nigerians by the terrorists.
He further assured Nigerians that the conference would comprehensively address all operational and administrative issues confronting the Nigerian Army and proffer appropriate remedies accordingly.
He said: “In the last 10 months since my assumption of command, our attention has been focused primarily on tackling the insurgency in the North-east and other security challenges in the country particularly in the North-central and North-west.
“Our key priorities have been to maintain all round operational readiness, improve the standard of training, modernize our equipment, pay attention to troops’ welfare and on the whole enhance our force posture.
“During the year, we also developed and implemented new strategies not only to contain current threats but also to better prepare us to combat future security challenges.”
He revealed that “a major discussion at this conference will focus on the Nigerian Army Development plan in the next 20 years”.
The conference was attended by the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, most of the serving and retired service chiefs.
Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday commended the military for what it described as its gallant fight against insurgency in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, on Monday.
Speaking after raising Order 43 of the Senate Standing Rules, Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) said the gallantry displayed by the military during the fight showed that the insurgency war could be won in the end.
Lawan, who said although many lives were lost and a good number of others injured, noted that the soldiers were determined to fight because they were well motivated.
According to him, the Damaturu war was significant because it showed that if all came together to support the battle against insurgency, the insurgency battle would be collectively won.
“Damaturu was attacked on Monday from 5am. The military tried to gain control. Many lives were lost. We can’t know the number of lives lost. We can’t also know the number that was injured…Soldiers were determined to fight yesterday even though there was no emergency rule. They fought very gallantly because they had motivation and not because of state of emergency.
“Mr. President, I want to say this, that a war is not won by the name of the operation, a war is won by the operators of the operation that operate in the theatre of war. Our soldiers were determined to fight the insurgents. They fought very gallantly and exhibited valour and they did that because they have motivation not because there was any state of emergency existing.
“The significance of the battle should not be lost. It shows that if we all come together to support the government irrespective of our political parties, I believe the war against terrorism is winnable if we do the right thing,” he said.
Before observing a minute silence in honour of the dead, Senate President David Mark, said the dimension of the war was frightening because of its magnitude.
“I allowed it because like I said, the dimension that it took yesterday was really frightening. I was in touch with the governor for most of the time and we were all very worried and because of the magnitude of what had happened in the last few days, bomb blasts in Kano, the attack in Borno, the bomb blast in Borno and the incidence that took place in Damaturu, because they have been raised on the floor here, it is only proper that we observe one minute silence in honour of those who lost their lives,” Mark said.
