May 2021
The war in Nigeria has taken a new
dimension intertwined with banditry, kidnapping
for ransom and rampant killings.
The Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari is
faced with a difficult, complex and multidimensional
warfare that is causing sleepless
nights for government officials and the
security agencies in the country
By Nuhu Turaki
It all started in 2009, during the Presidency of
late Umara Yar’Adua, when “Boko Haram”,
meaning “Western Education is Sinful”,
Commenced “jihad’ protest against the killing
of their leader Mohammed Yusuf in the hands
of security genitives.
Today, 12 years later, that “Jihad” has snowballed
into monstrous proportion, exacerbated
by the war in the Sahel region of Africa, emanating
from the exit of late Muhammar Ghadaffi
who was murdered by allied forces in the West,
but whose vast armory was unfortunately, not
dismantled.
Worsened by porous border demarcation
among Africa countries, these deadly weapons
found their way into Nigeria, a country, since
independence in 1960, had been on the front
burner for succession and rebellious activities.
Today, the war in Nigeria is not limited to
“Boko Hara”, it has gained strength and momentum,
by new entrants like the ISIS, ISWAP,
Alkaeda and others, that migrated from Iraq
and Afghanistan, into Sahel region of Northern
Africa, looking for armory and safer haven of
operations after they were depleted by the US
backed forces in the middle East.
These new entrant, with Boko Haram forces
on ground, used the porous borders in the Sahel,
to gain entrance into the Northern flanks of
Nigeria to cause havoc. With a Nigeria Military
already disoriented since the mid 80’s, due to
under funding and misappropriation, coupled
with hierarchical disorder due to long stay in
politics, during the Babangida and Abacha eras,
worsened the scenario. It is a widely – held view
by security experts that the Nigerian military
has long been compromised and monetized,
urgently need total reform to bring back its
past glory.
True, when President Buhari was campaigning
in 2014 for his first term in office in 2015,
he did not know, from an outsider, the deep
rot and decay of the Nigerian politics, including
the military. This is worsened by the new
emerging security threats in the Sahel Region
of North Africa along the Libya, Chadian and
Mali axis. Security sources say the strength
of the terrorists in the Sahel, both in military
power and finance, is more than the capacity
of the Nigerian Military.
In this current scenario, President Buhari,
recently in a virtual meeting with US Security
of State, Anthony Blinken, has called for an
urgent re-location of US Military Command
(A F R I C O M) currently stationed in stuffgart,
Germany, into Africa, near the theatre
of war operations. Inotherwords, President
Buhari is now seeking foreign assistance
to stem the rising tide of war operation in
Nigeria and the Sahel Region of Africa.
The war has become messier and complex,
with the recent death of former Chadian
President Idris Deby, who, many see as a
power strongman in forestalling terrorist
penetration into West Africa. Deby, a French
blue- eye boy and a strong ally to Nigeria and
other West African countries, has left a deep
scar in the war theatre against the terrorists
in Wes Africa.
His son, Mahmat Kaka Deby has taken
over the mantle, under an 18 months’ interim
leadership, with a promise to continue the
legacy of his father.