How many times shall we defeat Boko Haram?

WE need to apply great caution in our attitude to the war on terror. Terrorism being waged by Boko Haram and other Islamist groups in the North East of Nigeria is asymmetrical warfare. There is no formal drawn battle line, and the enemy feels free to attack “soft targets” such as innocent citizens and their property. For conventional armies all over the world, defeating terrorism is never an easy task. It took 25 years for the Sri Lankan authorities to defeat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, LTTE, in 2006. Since the announcement of that famous victory, calm has returned to that country. That is what “victory” means.

But here in Nigeria, the term “victory” has been bastardised on the altar of politics. The Nigerian military under former President Goodluck Jonathan, on two occasions, announced the killing of the leader of Boko Haram Islamist group, Abubakar Shekau. Yet, up till today, Shekau continues to appear in videos which the group posts online, taunting the Army and abusing the Federal Government. It was the Jonathan government’s difficulty in crushing Boko Haram that made the All Progressives Congress, APC, tout their presidential candidate, retired Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, as the man with the magic wand to vanquish the insurgents in six months. Read more