Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has explained that communication has not been the best in the areas under the emergency rule in Nigeria and this was the reason the military made the mistake of announcing that it had rescued 121 of the abducted girls at the Government School in Borno.
Speaking on the Monday edition of Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, he said that processing information has been made more difficult for the military and things must have been muddled up along the line, adding that the Army should be commended for admitting their error and apologizing, rather than condemned.
He added that security was not about the security agencies but about the people. He explained that if the security agencies do not get the quality of support that they require from the people and the society at large, there would be nothing they can do.
He also noted that based on his experience as a former envoy to Ghana, it was not unreasonable to suggest that the kind of relationship and collaboration that should exist between neighbouring countries in Africa do not exist.
He stated that the Boko Haram sect having switched their terror activities to soft targets like schools and motor parks is a situation which reflects that there had been progress in the fight against the terrorists and also meant that better care should have been given to such soft targets.
He said that the reason why the school was opened while all schools in Borno State were supposed to be closed also demanded explanation from the State Government, as he believed that the girl could have been relocated to a safer region to write their exams.
The Minister also said that some of the comments coming from the State Government have also not helped the situation of insecurity. “We can play politics but don’t play politics with the lives of the people”, he said.
He asked for more cooperation from the State Governments in the North, particularly demanding that communication from both authorities should be in tandem with the Federal Government’s efforts and should project cooperation between both tiers of Government.
He also said that the Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako’s comparison of military activities in the North to the actions of German dictator, Adolf Hitler, was uncalled for. He maintained that this should not be coming from a former Chief of Naval Staff, let alone an elected governor and representative of the people.
Providing explanation for the ease with which the sect, known for driving in large convoys of vehicles, carry out their operations despite the State of Emergency and consequent curfew in the states, Obanikoro said that there could not have been ease of passage for these terrorists if there were no local collaborators.
He also explained that the damage done to the telecommunication infrastructure in the region has also limited the help that the military could get to that which the local communities could give, if they were willing to join hands with the military to win the battle.
He, however, also admitted that the successes recorded by the military so far could not have been without the support of the local JTF and some natives, but also stated that Nigerians should not expect that all details of the progresses made would be made public.
On allegations that arms and ammunition were being smuggled into Nigeria from Turkey, Obanikoro said that he had asked the same questions from the service chiefs and they said emphatically that this was untrue and he has all reasons to believe them. “Let us not turn this into a beer parlour talk”, he said.
The former Senator admitted that the Boko Haram sect cannot be separated from all the globally known terrorist groups operating in different parts of the world, but insisted that intergovernmental collaboration between West African countries remained the most important factor if Nigeria would win the war on terror as this was not just a Nigerian problem.
Military Motivation
On the quality of motivation given to Nigeria’s military personnel who are at the fore front of fighting the insurgents, there had been suspicion of low morale within the men, as Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has also said that the terrorists were more motivated than the soldiers.
Obanikoro said that this has been his concern as well and he had asked severally from the top military hierarchy, and also spoken with the soldiers at the field who shared their experiences with him and they were in tandem with what the Army Chief told him that the soldiers were well taken care of.
He said that the allegation that the Nigerian Army’s weaponry was as old as having been purchased since the 1980s was mere politics.
Revealing that Nigeria had purchased arms and ammunition annually for many years, he insisted that the Nigerian Army had what it takes to end the war on terror.
