Opinion | By Sam Kayode | 10. 04. 2022
Journalism is about writing, adventure and traveling. These are some of the indices that make the profession spicy and less boring. Certainly any reporter who is the travel phobia kind, has no business nosing for news in North East Nigeria. However in spite of all the decades of experiences God has spared one’s life to gather in the north of Nigeria, this region is the most delicate to me because of the war. When one considers previous suicide bombings by Boko Haram, ambushes and broad day light shootings, traversing through the North East war theatre especially Borno and Yobe states, keeps one’s heart constantly inside his mouth. The fear of the ordinary commuter is stemmed out of the fact that for twelve years the Nigerian military, stretched beyond initial calculations has been struggling to end the war. But will it end this year as rightly predicted by the current Theatre Commander Major General Chris Musa? Only time and the God factor always helping this country, can tell.
WHY THE DAMATURU, MAIDUGURI ROAD STILL CLOSES TO COMMUTERS BEFORE DUSK
Traversing from Damaturu to Maiduguri is like traveling from Tel Aviv to Tiberias or encircling the well tarred roads which leads to the southern town of Beersheba in Israel. One recalls that even though our tour guide was excited in taking the Nigerian contingent on a 7 day cruise round only Jewish enclaves, they were conscious of the fact that certain settlements were no go areas per unit time for foreigners. And if pilgrims must pass through, they needed clearance from the Israeli security before they could traverse these volatile areas of the country. The insurgency in that part of the world is more deadly because of the kinds of long range weapons they possess and use against themselves. Even the houses are built to withstand missiles from any part of the world. Unlike here when 90 percent of houses go down after just one visit by the terrorists. The Isrealis are more sophisticated in terms of intelligence gathering which is why Boko Haram was termed the deadliest by them and the American Intel agencies.
Here also you need clearance before you traverse from one point to another and as soon as the uniformed personnel are satisfied that your vehicle is not a threat you proceed. This is the similarity we have been used to battling with in the North East of Nigeria before the advent of General Yahaya and his team of Commanders in the war front led by General Chris Musa.
When one considers the fact that terrorists are tormenting the Israelites on some highways the way our soldiers battle them here with less sophistication, then they may not be doing badly at all with all things being equal. Especially with the numerous check points mounted to ensure that the terrorists who equally use the same road like the rest of us are suffocated whenever they dare to rare their heads out. When traveling to Maiduguri from Kano or Jos by road, there are check points but non contests with the numbers you will encounter between Yobe and Borno state. Several check points are mounted to ensure safety of commuters and to make sure that Maiduguri is not cut off from the rest of the country. That has always been a focus of former Governor of Borno state
Kashim Shettima and the present Babagana Zulum. In fact, with the advent of Generals Chris Musa and Adamu Nura of sector 1 and 2 respectively of operation Hadin Kai, the patrol of both sides of the road has now been stepped up. This is to forstall the frequency of abduction which took place before now. They have tried to increase the scarce personnel on the road but not to the satisfaction of the Governor who had always asked for more men but couldn’t get enough. So he settled for Rapid Response Squad RRS made up of men of the Nigerian Police and vigilante which is complementing the daily patrols of the military along the Damaturu Maiduguri road. This Squad is managed by Chief Superintendent of Police CSP Abioye Babalola under the supervision of Governor Babagana Zulum.
The military obviously doesn’t have enough men to spare because they have unfinished operations in the Savannah, to carry out. They however had to increase their own patrols only to approved traveling hours. For security reasons nobody is allowed to travel on any of the major routes of both states after dusk.
The Isreali comparison in the management of insurgency here is apt because some intelligence sources this reporter spoke with while putting this report together believe that the Isrealis should be a better alternative to the British that have been given technical support to prosecute the war which has lingered for over 12 years creating many widows, widowers and orphans.
I visited Israel when the polity was not very stable so you could see more visible uniformed personnel even in markets where pilgrims went shopping.
Almost every uniformed personnel I saw during the first batch of the 2019 pilgrimage were armed even women. If Nigeria had acquired half the sophistication of Israel in terms of intelligence equipments, this war would have been over long ago. But there are signs that the platforms of both the Airforce and the Army have moved to the next level in terms of sophistication. In the North East theatre, the female combatants have been excused from the roads. This is because they are easy prey for the insurgents who would do anything to torment any formation where there are ladies to injure the morale of the entire company of troops.
DAMATURU TO MAIDUGURI BY ROAD
Driving through the Damaturu Maiduguri road, one could not miss the fact that in spite of being under increased pressure, General Yahaya’s troops were quite polite at the check points. At least the first 25 km terminating at Kukareta has been well organized since Brigadier General Adamu Nura took over as the Commander of sector 2 Damaturu which takes care of Yobe and some sections of Borno. If you witnessed the brutal phases of the war you will be praying for the peace no matter how uneasy to stay. It is obvious this kind of warfare is multifaceted, asymmetrical and very unpredictable. Killing from private to General in the military, killing women and children, armless commuters all in the name of a violent ideology against Western education. An ideology which treats women as second class citizens not fit to go to school and improve themselves.
The scenerio in the 130km stretch of the road now dualised is deadlier than my experience in Israel because both insurgents, military and commuters use the road at different times and we do not pray to collide with the terrorists. Many civilians and military in mufti have driven straight into their fake check points in the last twelve years and they have remained permanent guests in the Sambisa forest or Alageno bush, especially if they are young women. Of course if you are a man fit and willing to join their course they quickly bring you in and move you down to the lake Chad fringes to either be involved in farming or fishing for their teeming population. Most times women are subject to sex slavery if they refused to by wrongly married out to their Commanders like they did to Leah Sharibu believed to be in the clutches of a commander of the Islamic State in West Africa Province ISWAP. For now Damaturu, Maiduguri road is the safest in the entire theatre of war.
ACCESSING THE MASSIVE SACRIFICE OF THE MILITARY IN THE NORTH EAST OF NIGERIA
Once upon a time, the entire region was choked up by insurgents right up to Gombe State. That era can rightly be described as the darkest period of the administration of the former Commander in Chief, President Goodluck Jonathan. But before him, several General Officers Commanding (GOC’s) had come and gone from the 3 division of the Army and the Airforce base in Yola where most of the command instructions were coming from before the creation of the 7 division. Several mistakes were made by both the political bosses and some military Commanders based on their understanding of what Boko Haram stood for. This was in a bid to mix the doctrine of conventional warfare known to the Commanders with the unpredictable asymmetrical war which was now a strange reality that needed urgent joint strategic solutions. This off course led to the creation of a retraining hub at Buni by former Army Chief Tukur Buratai for troops orientation before they are introduced to the theatre. Without that many of our troops before the re-training base suffered immensely from unecessary ambushes and traps due to misfiring of their tanks or needed equipments which were no where to be found before the first order by Jonathan. We cannot forget in a hurry the attack of the military base in Mainoc one year ago around April 2021. But we thank God that we can gladly say things have improved to a reasonable level as troops could be seen very visible on road between Mainoc, Beneshiek and Jakana. There is more confidence among commuters traversing between sector 2 in Damaturu and 1 which is headquartered in Maiduguri. Again before now, the intelligence services of the military were badly affected in morale because of the lack of contemporary equipments to prosecute the war on a short term basis as envisaged even after the creation of the 7 division of the Nigerian Army in August 2013 by President Goodluck Jonathan. That was why the British technical units were brought in when the south Africa mercineries were eased off from the theatre. Both the Airforce and the Army have sacrificed a lot in the last one year in trying to stabilize the war theatre by freeing more locked down areas. The low moral of the Navy who were holed up in a Primary school in Shagari low cost A in the outskirts of Maiduguri has also been lifted as they have returned back to their sub base in Baga where they will be hobnobbing in their natural terrain and fishing the insurgents out of the numerous islands where they have been hiding and seeking the blood of our personnel.
THE THEN MAJOR GENERAL FAROUK YAHAYA AS THEATRE COMMANDER OPERATION HADIN KAI
The advent of the then Major General Farouk Yahaya to the North East war theatre has been a major plus to the gains of the military managers of all the 3 sectors. He came at a time when his wits were hard pressed by his military and political masters for him to end the war. With his coming, troops started seeing some changes in the way things were done because he believed so much that the insurgents could be crushed that very last year if he had his way. At a distance some colleagues saw him as too serious. The complete opposite of Generals Irabor, Nicholas or Adeniyi who though stern, drafted the media as co fighters. Some thought he actually disliked journalists as partners because the war to him was more for soldiers being an infantry General. He was always attending to critical issues on the field instead of sending his Deputies no matter how small so you can hardly get him in the office. His worse offence then was not talking to us when we felt he should respond to issues that needed his attention so we could feed the people with the truth about the war without compromising military secrets. But that was his style we got to find out later after he escaped a deadly ambush which would have caused him his life. The ISWAP guys were said to have come very close but were repelled in the ambush which caused some loyal soldiers to be wounded in the process. ” Since then Oga Yahaya nor trust anyone oh because e be like say na insider help those people with Intel on our movement. So you will not blame him” said a military source in pidgin English. We learnt to work with every General that comes because every one has his style, even those who did not last long in the theatre. So we tugged along until he invited us to a dinner night to tacitly draft us into the fight. After the dinner, we got to realize that the man was a gentleman officer, even though yet to learn the art of media diplomacy, and just cut out to do his job. He was under tremendous pressure by his bosses and himself to end it all so that civil life can begin in earnest in Borno. He spoke to us for the first time using very strong language but we understood his line of thought. He was busy fighting the common enemy until it became obvious that it was time to move to higher calling.
LT-GEN FAROUK YAHAYA – MEETING UP TO HIS NEW RESPONSIBILITY AS CHIEF OF THE ARMY STAFF
It was the 21st May 2021 when the then late Army Chief Ibrahim Attahiru died in a plane crash that the destiny of General Farouk Yahaya changed. His announcement as the next Army Chief was to change his entire work schedule and rank from Theater Commander to Chief of the Army Staff. He was elevated to the rank of Army Chief by the Commander in Chief, President Mohammadu Buhari on the 27th May 2021. This means, he had to move to Abuja saddled with the entire Army now managing security issues in 35 out of 36 states of the federation. The 22nd Chief of the the Nigerian Army Staff has proven that the higher he goes, the more he can grapple with the tasks ahead. Afterwards some of us have always known him as “Mr serious” wondering if he ever has time to relax. Who knows perhaps the desperation to end the war which some of my colleagues saw as the man being too military came from that ambush which to a well trained infantry officer was a rude torment to his career. His body language then was to us unfriendly because we concluded he never felt we should join him in fighting the war. He was in a hurry to smoke the insurgents from Sambisa, Alageno forest, Gwoza hills and caves or even the lake Chad islands and was busy trying to create strategies to achieve the directives of his Chief. He finally towed the pattern set by General Lucky Irabor which was to draft us into the war which we fought with our pens in print, online and in the airwaves. This reporter recalls that it was General Irabor that first drafted reporters into the Corp of Defense correspondents and used an almost two hours lecture to initiate the entire correspondents chapel of the Nigeria Union of journalists NUJ Borno council into the pen fighting squad. Indeed it has been like that till this day that he is Nigeria’s defense Chief in Abuja.
LT. GENERAL FAROUK YAHAYA’S WAR THEATRE, CHALLENGES AND ULTIMATE SURRENDER OF INSURGENT FIGHTERS
The sector 2 of the war theatre managed by Brigadier General Adamu Nura has been able to give a good example of themselves to the best of their team and fighting spirit. The incessant attacks from the Babangida axis, threatening Damaturu has stopped. Many of the officers and men can attest to the fact that residents sleep with their two eyes closed especially inside Damaturu even before the advent of the fasting month of Ramadan. The Geidam, Yunisari, Buni axis still worries General Nura, as he expressed in a recent Interview with metrowatchonline but he will not relent till they are wiped out from Yobe. Enough pressure is coming from sector 2 against the enemy across the lake Chad, and lots of progress is being made which General Nura would prefer stays off the record for now. On the issue of the welfare of his troops, General Nura says he is doing his possible best for them to be happy while doing their jobs. On soldiers remaining too long in the field, suffering from fatigue and not going on transfer, he said it was being handled at the Army headquarters and respite will soon come for such affected men. “The issue of rotation is squarely handled by Army Head Quarters, with a minimum of 2yrs its just that it cannot be done at once. It is turn by turn for a specific period” said General Nura.
At the sector 1 end which is Borno, the Theatre Commander Major General Chris Musa oversees same coupled with his role as the eye of his Chief in the three sectors, the third of which is in Monguno about 137km from Maiduguri, commanded by Major General Godwin Mutkut. Apart from the fact that the security of the state capital Maiduguri has been entrusted into the hands of the Garrison Command, it is the duty of General Musa to keep residents in the entire north east safe using all these lieutenants and his Deputy Theatre Commanders from the other two services. That intricate role especially with the acquisition of the latest A 29 super tucano jet fighters by the Airforce has achieved some level of symmetry within the last one year since Chief Yahaya assumed duty. Officers are happier to serve their country now as desperate efforts are made to give them the right equipments. Within the year under review, efforts have equally been intensified by the military to ensure that the threats that usually came from the polo, cashew farm, molai axis is stemmed so that residents can live in peace. “Most of the farmers around molai axis were able to go get their harvest from last year’s farming.” Said Ndahi a resident of the area. Commander of Giwa barracks, Lt Col Nathaniel Yakubu has equally brought a new lease of life to officers, men, the community and beyond since he assumed duty. He has been working with his boss and Theatre Commander General Musa in making sure that residents sleep with two eyes closed.
THE NEED FOR MORE FRONTLINE INTEL RELATED EQUIPMENTS
An interview conducted recently by metrowatch online with the Theatre Commander revealed that for the safety of residents, the lingering curfew will not be released soon. The unpredictable nature of the war has however not given commuters the boldness to drive through dangerous routes like the Maiduguri – Damboa Road which hosts the spiritual stronghold hub of the Alageno forest which is a strong hold of insurgents. Attempts were made by former Army Chief Tukur Buratai to open up this same road but it has not changed anything because no vehicle can drive by without military escorts. With the war edging to a near end, the former Theatre Commander now Chief of the Army Staff, it is expected that not only “personnel, but battle enablers and many more intelligence gathering equipments would be shipped to the theatre to finish what looks like the last phases of the war. “The chief was a former TC so we expect a lot from him having stayed here and watched at a close range all the challenges of the officers and men.” Our military source posited. On equipments, he went on “equipments like more armored vehicles, their accompanying spare parts, and numerous contemporary communications gadgets used for counter insurgency in States like Isreal should be procured by the Army management led by the Chief who has been in the Theatre and understands our needs. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy is not a challenge to Army Chief Yahaya. If we have the precise equipments, even though more sophisticated than Boko Haram, ISWAP would be history in a short while” stressed the source.
This is because Damboa road is the only road that can guarantee the shortest passage to the South of Borno state where the Deputy Governor Umar Kadafur comes from. Our military source who retired in Maiduguri went on ” they are dealing with deep seated challenges in “Dusula , Chirellia, Buk, Mungumsu, Wajiroko Mararaba Kimba and Kafa all in Damboa council area”. He said that the new Chief has tried to get some of these new battle equipments some of which were on display at the command office of Operation Hadin Kai when this reporter chatted with General Chris Musa recently. Metrowatch online investigation revealed that the Army Chief has tried to operate within the limitations of resources awarded his service as his budgetary plans were slashed by the Ministry of finance. For now, “what we had didn’t go round as planned for all the units but we told the chief when he came for his visit to us in the bush” said another source.
For now most first timers to Maiduguri are escorted by mobile police team headed by officer Babalola if they are government officials who has one thing or the other to do and return by road if they must come through that express road. Others drive by the grace of God hoping that troops are doing their jobs.
ONE YEAR AFTER CHIEF FAROUK YAHAYA ASSUMES DUTY: WHAT IMPACT AND JUSTIFICATION ON APPROPRIATED RESOURCES?
Almost a year after lots of changes have taken place in the theatre. Soldiers now get their operational allowances as at when due.
One thorny issue that used to agitate the troops is the issue of abduction at their most vulnerable time when they are on pass to see their families. This used to anger the men because the system was not very organized before now. Although former GOC General Abdul Kalifa once gave instructions that men on pass should be escorted to safety out of the war theatre, many in a hurry to see their families never waited for this. They went on their own with commercial vehicles. Immediately General Yahaya assumed duty, he found a solution to this challenge. It was a needless challenge because troops cannot be paying the supreme sacrifice in operations and the enemy would be stealing some of them to go help them against the nation. He had to move into the flight option for troops. The Army Chief Yahaya created a working relationship with the Airforce in which any personnel who wants to go see his family will be flown by air to his destination. So that incidences in which military personnel are abducted cheaply on the Maiduguri, Damaturu road when going home on pass has now become a thing of the past. Reporters were invited to the flag off of the innovation with both the Air and Army Chief on ground.
Secondly cars and official houses were non institutionalized for battalion sergeant majors. Except for special cases. But as at today it is a policy for them to enjoy the full perks of officialdom like their British or South African colleagues.
Since Chief Yahaya took charge, these incentives have become a reality in the war theatre. Official cars for such cadre of Officers have gone a long way in boasting the moral of the command and control system. The office of the Sergeant Major has been given more weight so that the job can be easier for the officers.
A third thorny issue has also been looked into. And that is giving soldiers and officers respites so that the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder can be reduced to the barest minimum. The Theatre Commander had this to say: “The rotation exercise is properly planned and being conducted in phases. The Nigerian Army troops are operating in all the states of the Federation which is highly demanding. As at now almost every officer/ soldier is engaged in one operation or the other.
“This means we are stretched and cannot relocate every over officer/ soldier at the same time. The FG has approved the continuous recruitment of soldiers to enhance our strength. So gradually we will be able to rotate everyone and prevent overstay. The Army will never deliberately keep its troops in the Theatre longer than necessary.
“The list of all overstayed soldiers is compiled from a comprehensive data base to ensure nobody is overlooked. At the Theatre we adhere strictly to the list.”
Fourthly, sector 3 could not have operated on its own without the support of the Multi National Joint Task Force MNJTF headquartered in Njamena. The force which comprises of troops from Benin, Chad, Niger and Cameroon have also been coming against the terrorists hiding in the lake Chad islands and causing lots of trouble in the fringe council areas. The Commanding Officer of the MNJTF Major General Abdul Kalifa says they have done a lot to end the menace of the terrorists.
In a bid to clear the lake Chad basin areas of the scourge of the Boko Haram Terrorists , the MNJTF in close coordination with the Operation Hadin Kai have launched “Operation Lake Sanity” involving multi regional forces from Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. Metrowatch online learnt that Chad could not join up due to technical issues but this pressure on the lake is on going.
The offensives has been on for weeks now and started before the Ramadan as security analysts have noticed that the criminals use the Ramadan to heighten attacks.
“Scores of terrorists have been neutralized in places such as Tunbuma, Afonari, Abujan ruwa, Arina, old Marte , Zanari, Bagadaza. Scores of civilians released, while lots of weapons have been captured,” said Commander Abdul Kalifa.
