NEWS of the chains of victories recorded by the Nigerian armed forces against the Boko Haram Islamist insurgents in the North East is not only a thing of delight, it is also a source of great relief. These victories, achieved in theatres of operation in Adamawa and Borno states, climaxed with the elimination of the man who paraded himself as Abubakar Shekau in the battle for the reclamation of Konduga town in Borno.
Continue..This imitation Shekau really put his dirty thumb in the eye of Nigerians after the abduction of the Chibok girls in April this year. In a very rude and mocking statement aimed at deriding the worldwide demand for the release of the girls, this “Shekau” disclosed that he was going to “sell” the girls. Under him, Boko Haram grew to monstrous dimensions, while a series of internal disruptions bedeviled the Nigerian army, leading to mutinies and a court Martial.
It is gladdening that the army has gradually put the internal challenges facing it behind and are going after the terrorists in a typical manner for which our military has been renowned historically. The Nigerian army has distinguished itself in military campaigns in the Congo, the Nigerian civil war, peace keeping operations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Sudan and other parts of the world. In internal security campaigns, the army crushed the Maitatsine riots in Maiduguri and Jimeta in the early 1980’s, smashed the kidnap ring of Abia State and prevailed against the militants of the Niger Delta until they surrendered and opted for the amnesty programme.
Our armed forces have the pedigree of a conquering force. The Boko Haram insurgency should have been a piece of cake if not for the internal challenges and various acts of sabotage by unpatriotic politicians and others seeking to use it as a means of attaining political power.
Now that the army has risen to the challenge, we urge them to take a cue from Mr Joe Biden, the Vice of the United States, who solemnly pledged: “we will pursue the ISIS killers to the gates of hell”. The campaign to devastate and eliminate Boko Haram must continue apace until victory is achieved and millions of Nigerians uprooted from their normal lawful livelihood are reinstalled in their communities.
Via Vanguard
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