BOKO HARAM: Chief of Army Staff Relocates to Maiduguri - Found as true Gov. Shettimas statement that insurgents are better armed and trained than our military - To replace soldiers on ground with the infantry - Insurgency to be crushed soon The battle-line between Boko Haram and the military has taken a new dimension with the relocation of the Chief of Army Staff, (COAS), Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, and some of his lieutenants to Maiduguri, Borno State. Another method the COAS has adopted is to replace the soldiers in the zone who have been waging the war. Our findings showed that in the past, most of the soldiers fighting the war in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states were not trained specifically for warfare. The Infantry is the unit of the Army that handles wars specifically. Minimah who spent most part of last week in the North East, returned early this week to Abuja. The COAS’s presence in Maiduguri, was said to have been responsible for the successes recorded by the military over the weekend. He was there to shore up the morale of the soldiers who seemed to have been losing ground in the past few weeks. Daily Sun learnt that the Army chief had temporarily relocated to Maiduguri, even before members of the National Assembly asked him to do so.Our source revealed that before relocating to Maiduguri, Minimah had visited the town together with the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, to assess the situation on ground and why the insurgents seemed to be having the upper hand against the soldiers in the fight against terror. The Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, had during the night before meeting with the President over the incessant attacks, visited the COAS at his quarters at the Niger Barracks, to brief him on the true situation of things in his state.During the visit, Shettima was said to have told Minimah some of the atrocities going on in the military operations and suggested some measures to end the crisis. And so the statement by the governor during an interview with State House correspondents that Boko Haram was more equipped than the military did not come to the COAS as a surprise. But that notwithstanding, the Army chief was said to have taken most of the governor’s complaints and observation seriously and found them to be true to a large extent during his visit to Maiduguri, thus prompting him to make some immediate changes. Daily Sun learnt that security operations in the North-East may have not recorded the deserved result because those in charge of briefing Minimah on the intelligence were not telling him the truth. Sources said the cosmetic reports painting a different picture to suit the authors about the security situation on ground was responsible for the failure of the military to win the war against insurgency. And that had been on even before Minimah was appointed COAS. Another factor that has been a shortcoming in the fight was the politics of ending the war against insurgency in the North-East because of the monetary benefits of the operation, making government and the generality of Nigerians believe that the war is tough. For instance, it was discovered that most of the soldiers deployed in Maiduguri were of other corps instead of the Infantry which prompted a massive deployment of purely Infantry soldiers to the zone. The redeployment took place few days ago. The military, in assessing its operation and evaluating how to do things differently, had found that most of the soldiers killed by the terrorists had gunshot injuries on their backs meaning they were shot while trying to escape the fire power of the terrorists. A military source who confided in Daily Sun, said no infantry officer can die in that manner because they know the rule of fire and movement in battle which is one of the basic infantry tactics and they also know that it is not the volume of fire that matters, but the effectiveness of the firing and it is only the infantry soldier that has that tenacity. The source assured that the Army has started withdrawing all its infantry personnel posted to training institutions, units and commands across the country to battle the insurgents. To this end, most of the soldiers who have stayed too long in the North-East on commencement of the emergency rule have also been posted out to give room for fresh soldiers to take over. Another dilemma is corruption where monies meant for the payment of troops’ allowance were diverted by some finance officers and commandants who stay in the comfort of their office. Similarly, most of the 5,000 vehicles sent to the area reportedly stolen by the terrorists have been found to be untrue and some officers were said to have hijacked the vehicles and converted them to their use and even sold some. The development is being investigated by the Army which has vowed to court-martial anyone found wanting. Very top military sources who confided in Daily Sun, also said that the meddling by politicians in military operations against terrorists has not helped the military as they keep accusing it of human rights violation. Sources also said that the downsizing of the military by the Obasanjo administration over the fear that the military may engage in a coup to overthrow a democratically-elected government is also affecting the operations of the war against insurgency. Furthermore, top military sources said the politicization of the office of the COAS, where officers other than those from the Infantry and Armoured Corps are appointed to that office has also hampered Army security operations. Unlike in the Air Force where only pilots are appointed to the position of Chief of Air Staff, it is not the same with the Army. The last infantry officer appointed COAS was General Victor Malu, and that was the reason Minimah, another infantry officer, was favoured for the top job this time. Culled from DAILY SUN
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 09:09:16 +0000
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