•Regrets Nigerian leadership lacking political will to fight terrorism
•Says, Biafra would not have been defeated if FG handled war with same kid gloves
By Steve Oko
Following the deployment of a team of US troops to Nigerian to assist in the fight against terrorism, a former Director of Operations at the Army Headquarters, Major General
Ijioma N. Ijioma (rtd), has cautioned Nigerians against expecting that the United States troops would engage bandits directly on the battlefield.
Last week, the United States sent a small team of its troops to Nigeria. Head of the US Military’s Africa Command, AFRICOM, General Dagvin R M Anderson, said the team was bringing some unique capabilities following increased collaboration between Nigeria and the US after both nations agreed that more needed to be done to tackle terrorism.
Anderson did not however provide further details about the size and scope of their mission. But it was gathered that the team would be heavily involved in intelligence gathering and enabling Nigerian forces to strike terrorist-affiliated groups.
Speaking on the deployment of US troops to Nigeria, Major General Ijioma (retd) accused Nigeria’s leadership of lacking the political will to decisively confront banditry and terrorism, stressing that only Nigerian troops can ultimately defeat the insurgents. According to him, if the Federal Government had handled the 1967 Biafran insurgency with the same “kid gloves” being used against bandits and Boko Haram today, “there would have been a Biafra Republic by now.”
The retired General urged Nigerians to demand answers from their leaders on why terrorists are being treated with leniency.
“The United States does not risk the lives of its soldiers for nothing,” he said, calling on Nigerians to ask what form of agreement or compensation exists between Nigeria and the US.
Gen. Ijioma argued that terrorists have grown bolder even after recent US airstrikes on their camps, insisting that once Nigeria’s leadership demonstrates genuine resolve, insurgency would be crushed.
“I have made it clear that the involvement of the United States, whether through air bombardment or collaboration, should not have been necessary if the Nigerian leadership had the political will to deal with insurgency.
“The strike the US carried out in Sokoto and Kwara — is there anywhere our fighter jets could not have bombed? There is no place within Nigeria that our aircraft cannot reach. The reason they haven’t done the needful tells you clearly that what we lack is political will”, he said.
He wondered why Nigerian fighter jets were swiftly deployed to Benin Republic to quell an attempted coup, while bandits killing Nigerians daily remain largely unchecked.
According to him, “Fighter jets went to Benin Republic. Our troops physically went there on the President’s order. What does that tell you? It tells you there is no political will.
“The US troops are not going to deploy on the battlefield to fight Nigeria’s war. Whether we like it or not, the responsibility of eliminating militants rests with the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The role of US troops would be limited to training, intelligence, and logistical support. They are only going to collaborate with Nigerian troops in terms of training, intelligence and technical support.”
Gen. Ijioma noted that this was not Nigeria’s first military collaboration with the United States, recalling that during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term, American military personnel occupied the entire third floor of Defence Headquarters.
“At that time, the third floor was out of bounds to Nigerian officers. The Americans visited all troop locations, mapped Nigerian barracks and equipment holdings. This was strongly opposed by the then Chief of Army Staff, late Gen. Victor Malu, who believed they had no business doing that. That disagreement led to his removal.”
Contributing, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Goodwin Nwobodo, said Nigeria must be ready to play a meaningful role if the fight against insecurity is to succeed. He warned that lack of cooperation or sabotage by Nigerian authorities could erode US confidence.
“We must be ready to make a meaningful contribution. In the past, the US complained that they could not work with Nigerian troops because they lacked confidence in intelligence sharing. If confidence exists this time, collaboration can work. But they can only assist us with technical know-how.”
DIG Nwobodo stressed that Nigeria’s security challenges require more than a small foreign contingent and that US forces cannot operate independently.
“According to international law, they are here to support Nigeria. They cannot operate without our consent unless there is a full-blown intervention, which would create serious complications.”
Responding to questions on why US troops need Nigeria’s permission while bandits do not, he explained: “Bandits are lawless. That is why they are bandits. But the US is here to assist, not to violate Nigeria’s sovereignty. Any expansion of their operation must still be with the approval of Nigerian authorities.”
Our expectations from the US troops —Security experts
By Samuel Oyadongha; Jimitota Onoyume; Egufe Yafugborhi; Daniel Abia & Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo
Other security experts who also spoke on the deployment of US troops to Nigeria expressed their expectations of this increased collaboration between the two nations and how the US military could really assist to put an end to the terrorist activities in every part of the country.
Make huge demands on heavy military aides, intelligence from US —Captain Eyo (retd)
Ex ECOMOG officer, Captain Effiong Eyo called on the Federal Government to make bold demands from the government of the United States on huge military equipment and advanced intelligence gathering equipment to combat insecurity in Nigeria. He admitted that the United States has a higher intelligence gathering mechanism than any country on earth, and is in a position to partner with Nigeria in that regards as the surest way of tackling the prolonged insecurity situation in the country.
He argued that there are daunting aspects of the insecurity problem the Nigerian military cannot execute. He said, “it is not that they don’t have the capacity. They are more than able to tackle such situations but for political reasons. Those difficult aspects of our insecurity challenge should be shifted to the US Armed Forces to handle”.
According to him, “Anybody that is found to be an apologist of terrorists, bandits or jihadists should be taken away”, adding that these people constitute the major challenges the country faces than the terrorists themselves because they fund them to acquire weapons and logistics to execute deadly attacks in the country.
He advised that Nigeria now has the best opportunity to make big demands from the United States to help boost the nation’s military architecture going forward, adding that with Russia now making inroads into West Africa after the exit of France and South Africa cooperating with Russia, “Nigeria is the only power house left on African continent that America will not want to lose.
“We should be bold to make demands on modern military equipment from the American government. We should align to learn how to improve our intelligence gathering with modern facilities to fight insurgency in the country.
“I am sure that Donald Trump means well for the country. I know that with the effort President Bola Tinubu has put in so far to fight insecurity in the country, we should leverage on this golden opportunity by appealing to the American government to help us with modern war equipment to eliminate insecurity from the country.”
Nigeria’s partnership with the US, commendable —Ambakederimo
For Elder Joseph Ambakederimo, Convener South South, Reawakening Group, “There is no doubt that Nigeria should continue on this trajectory of addressing insecurity, which is plaguing almost every part of the country.
Nigerians are less safe in their own country; therefore, whatever understanding this government has reached with the Americans is a welcome development. Let no one politicize this; it is what we need at this trying time in our body polity. Terrorism is a global phenomenon; therefore, the government must seek help to eradicate it, and this is the result of the collaboration with the Americans.
“We have wanted this help for over a decade and a half, but no one was able to muster the political will to dare ask for this level of help, apart from the occasional purchase of arms and ammunition. A small number of US troops is not adequate if the reports we are getting are to be trusted, regarding the cross-border movement of terrorists.
“Terrorism is not peculiar to only the northern part of Nigeria; the South East is also a hotbed of terrorism, as we all know. If we may ask, do we need the presence of American troops deployed to the South East? The answer would be a resounding no. The argument will now be made about how long we’ll rely on foreign troops to provide a secured environment. There’s also the question of how long these troops will be deployed, and worries about the talk of occupier forces. The fight against terrorism is not a one-time hit-and-go; it should be a continuous effort that makes the territory unwelcome to terrorists. So, the Nigerian people need full disclosure of what this partnership is all about.”
Also, Eric Omare, a conflict resolution expert and legal practitioner, said: “I welcome the increased collaboration between the US and Nigerian military in combating terrorism. I strongly believe that, if the Nigerian government is sincere, the collaboration would help in addressing the problem of terrorism especially in the areas of intelligence gathering through the use of technology. In my opinion, the key to the fight against terrorism is the use of technology. That is the best way to beat the terrorists to the game. But above all, political will and sincerity on the part of the Nigerian government is critical.”
There should be motivation for the front line fighters- Ex Narcotic Chief Nasiru Braimah, a retired Commander of Narcotics in the NDLEA and currently Director of Operations, Prime Verse Royal, Security Services (PVR) said: “The expectations are very high, encouraging and timely. Our security personnel are overwhelmed, they need training and retraining, our arms to combat and confront banditry are obsolete.
“The hoodlums are more empowered than our security personnel. There is an absolute need for collaboration with foreign powers to tame the recurring decimal of insecurity, because insecurity is on the upward trend. It’s not just about coming to help us to fight terrorism. There should also be motivation for the front line fighters, and a good welfare package.
“In South Africa, private security operatives are more battle ready because of good welfare, good pay. Individuals and corporate organizations bank on private security for protection of lives and property to the conventional police. There should also be mass recruitment, so they can meet the numerical strength of the criminals. They also need to provide logistics directly to us, arms, ammunition, jet fighters, and other military hardwares. They should not release money to the government, because they will siphon the money. The collaboration must have a human face, not political interest for their personal aggrandizement.”
It’s a necessary step —Ex Security chief
A top security officer who spoke anonymously welcomed the collaboration, saying “There should be intense collaboration between Nigeria and the US security body to bring the insecurity under control. Although this will have its negative implications but as it is now our country is almost helpless.
If we don’t make good use of this offer we will later beg for it. And it is good the government is collaborating. There should be joint airstrikes on marked areas in the control of terrorists already in some parts of the north.
There should also be a strategy in place to see that the terrorists do not escape to other parts of the country. The collaboration should focus on restoring peace in the south east. The way the south east is going, if steps are not taken to curtail the activities of non state actors in that area it will grow into a very big security problem for the entire southern part of the country. The Nigerian government should see that the problem of insecurity is solved before the next general elections”.
Alhaji Zubairu Idris AbdurRauf, the Dan Masanin Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State, described the United States’ offer to assist Nigeria in tackling insecurity as a welcome development, but questioned the timing and underlying intentions.
He said, “It is a welcome development, but why does it take so long before the US decides to offer us help? If the intention is truly to help, assistance should go beyond deploying soldiers to include the provision of military equipment to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture. If it will be a military collaboration, it should not only be in the interest of the military but should be structured to end insecurity in Nigeria, especially in the Northern part. I’m yet to see any significant military hardware shipped to Nigerian commands or operational theatres, adequate equipment is critical to achieving meaningful results in the fight against insecurity”.
US collaboration against terrorism welcome if not divisive — Sani
Anthony N.Z. Sani, former Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), said that any collaboration between Nigeria and the United States aimed at ending terrorism in the country would be highly welcome, provided it does not promote divisive narratives. Sani cautioned against claims suggesting a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, stressing that victims of terrorism cut across religious lines. According to him, more Muslims have been killed in insurgency attacks in the North-East and banditry in the North-West, while more Christians have lost their lives in parts of Benue, Plateau and Taraba states where clashes between herders and farmers persist.
He added that in the South-East, killings are largely attributed to separatist elements. The former ACF scribe noted that areas of support from the United States should focus on intelligence sharing, training of Nigeria’s intelligence community, and capacity building for security personnel. He also urged America to make it easier for Nigeria to access the arms required to flush terrorists out of the forests and other enclaves across the country.
Sani expressed concern that Nigeria currently faces a shortage of adequately trained, well-equipped and motivated personnel needed to effectively secure the nation, emphasizing that strengthened international cooperation could help address the challenge.
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