TUKUR BURATAI AND PEOPLE OF THE NORTHEAST
Communities in the Northeast Nigeria ravaged by Boko Haram senseless war are very happy with Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, Nigerian Chief of Army Staff and they hold him in high esteem. When he announced months ago that the Nigerian Army would defeat the Boko Haram group by December 2016, many people questioned how feasible that was. However, most political observers in Nigeria and the majority of the people in the northeast had confidence in General Buratai; his gallant officers and President Buhari, a trio who showed the political will to win the war. On Thursday, December 22, 2016 at 1:35pm, to the delight of the nation, Buratai and his men captured the Operational Headquarters of Boko Haram at Sambisa Forest, marking the beginning of the end of the war.
Today, the people of the north-east are very pleased with the successes the military is recording in the clearance efforts and the crippling of Boko Haram’s capacity to hold any territory or launch a major military attack. In fact, under Buratai, the people of the north-east are experiencing a pleasing difference between the sloppy handling of the war by Goodluck’s regime and the doggedness and commitment being shown by the Buhari government. Anyone who comes to the north-east now will see and get information of the obvious proof that the Nigerian Army has decimated Boko Haram. One must commend Brig. General SK Usman for his professional management of information.
The resolve of the Nigerian army to completely win the war is evidenced in the confidence on the faces of the soldiers on ground. The number of war planes and their activities in skies especially from Yola airport certainly tells any doubting Thomases that Buratai and his men are matching words with action.
The Nigerian army is getting massive approval from the north-east; people can now see that the military is in the offensive mode- taking the war to Boko Haram rather than waiting for them to come. Remnants of Boko Haram are being chased out of villages and their camps in bushes, unlike before when they were capturing big towns, annexing local government areas and renaming them. Boko Haram no longer holds a single territory in the 774 LGAs in Nigeria. This is a sweet thing to hear and every Nigerian should give Buratai and his men a pat on the back.
On the rules of engagement with both the locals and the ‘enemy’, General Buratai, who is a well-trained officer admonishes his men to adhere strictly to the provisions of International humanitarian law and laws of armed conflict. Buratai charges his men to enter all fortresses, camps, dens and enclaves of the Boko Haram to completely flush them out and dominate these areas to ensure they are not reoccupied.
The people of the north-east stand with Buratai and his men on ground, because they now see the Nigerian soldiers are very confident; fully kitted, well-armed and highly motivated. The people of the north-east are appreciative of Buratai’s approach to the war- because now, the rights of people and their humanity are always protected by the soldiers while the clearance goes on. The recently launched “Operation Deep Punch” was received with great cheerfulness in the north-east. This is because, as described by Buratai, it is an operation aimed at “paving way for return of normalcy to the zone”.
Communities ravaged by Boko Haram senseless war now see the military as their shield and partners in the Buhari administration’s effort to fast track the healing of scars of the war, restore basic infrastructure and local economies, and returning these communities to their pre-war or even better conditions. Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State