Still on the massacre at Metele

The massacre of over one hundred soldiers of the 175 Task Force Batalion at Metele last week by the Boko Haram and their affiliates, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWP) should invoke in us as a Nation the highest sense of solidarity with the very gallant soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice. The incident, although coming after many lesser ones in the last three months, demands we stand in solidarity with the President and the gallant soldiers battling the insurgents in the North East. Beyond this is the importance of the government and the national security establishment re-strategizing to forestal a recurrence.

This is because recent happenings in the North East point to an ominous and serious setback that could result in avoidable reversal of the gains made by the President Muhammadu Buhari Government since it came to power in 2015. To those of us directly affected, we remain grateful to the President, Commander in Chief for liberating our communities. However, it is time that the truth must be told if we are to succeed in ending the night mare the insurgents have unleashed on the country. Some much more decisive measure must be deployed.

The truth is that the resurgence in the activities of the insurgents was evident and systematically gaining grounds in the last couple of months. An indication of this was several military bases in the North East before the one at Metele were earlier overran. It is pertinent to ask why the attack was therefore not envisaged. Why the military formations and other targets were susceptible to attacks by the insurgents also not fortified? Although it might not be helpful to apportion blames, there are indications that something is amiss. It must not be forgotten that there have been reports that the soldiers have been complaining over alleged inadequacy and obsolete weapons at their disposal. Also, going by claims that have leaked into the social media, the soldiers reportedly complained that the weapons they have are those bought by former President Shehu Shagari in 1970s. If one may ask, what then has happened to the much talked about arms bought to re-equip the Armed Forces and the one billion dollars disbursed to re-equip the Armed Forces? There have also been talks in some circles that the various arms of the Armed Forces and Security Agencies have in recent times being working at cross purposes. In counter-insurgency security operations, interagency cooperation and complementarities are crucial requirements for success. Where this is absent, the type of incidents witnessed should be expected. In addition, the strategies being deployed seem not to have worked. It is unthinkable that after several earlier attacks on military formations no preventive measures were put in place to forestall recurrence. The Military High Command accordingly needs to incorporate into its strategies, approaches that allow for going after the insurgents instead of relying on one that makes the troops sitting ducks. But much more alarming are reports that, the latest incident could be the result of insider compromise, breach of Operational Security (Ops Sec) and sabotage. Even if the soldiers were taken by surprise, why was there no resistance and backup? Nigerian soldiers are not weaklings and would have dealt a serious blow to a rag tag army.

The authorities must not also overlook reports from diverse sources that other deficiencies have contributed to upsurge in attacks by the insurgents. The most noticeable are lapses and gaps in intelligence sourcing and application. The incidents without doubt are suggestive of serious intelligence failure. Despite challenges of a counter insurgency war, there should have been abundant actionable and current intelligence on the insurgents that would fuel the attack. Something definitely needs to be done to strengthen the intelligence component of the counter insurgency operations.

Not to be overlooked also are problems that have been associated with weaknesses in the national security architecture. Among these problems are structural deficiencies, the vulnerability of our borders, lack of capacity of the various security agencies and leadership ineptitude. These are not issues that should be swept under the carpet. The point has repeatedly being made that the security forces are not likely to succeed in bringing to an end the insurgency in the North East earliest, as long as they face problems of inadequate manpower, lack of counter insurgency fighting capabilities and disenchantment within the ranks of the troops. The fact is reiterated again that, if the country is to move forward in the fight against insurgency in the North East, everything must be put into this critical stage of the counter insurgency war and the authorities should do the needful. Specifically, the authorities must not lose sight of some fundamental issues that has continued to fuel the insurgency in the North East. These are the absence of good governance particularly development and employment and lack of adequate security presence. It should not be forgotten that the North East is arguably the poorest part of the country. Successive governments have not impacted the lives of majority of the people especially the youths. The absence of all inclusive governance is also a challenge that continues to fuel disenchantment and drift into extremism. This reality needs to be frontally faced as the current resort to deception and propaganda will only succeed for a while. What the States in the North East need is credible, honest and pragmatic leadership and real development.

Lastly, the point must be emphasized that there is just no way the ongoing counter terrorism efforts will succeed without the cooperation of the neighbouring countries, especially Chad, Cameroun and Niger. If current intelligence is anything to go by, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) is consolidating its strong holds in these countries. This has been going for some time. The country should not also be in a state of denial that the Islamic State West Africa Province has taken over leadership of the Boko Haram and has gained footholds in the North East especially in the shores of the Lake Chad. In view of all these, the time has come for the country to take the bold step of requesting for assistance from world powers especially the United States of America (USA) as has been done in Somalia and Kenya in the war against Al-Shabab. The country should not play the ostrich as our efforts have failed. As said earlier, this is a moment we need to stand by the President and the gallant soldiers.

Gadzama, OFR, mni, is a former Director General of the State Security Service (SSS)