Nigeria’s service chiefs appear to be taking the President’s matching orders to defeat Boko Haram within three months, with all the seriousness it requires.
To this end, the Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Tukur Buratai and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar have arrived in Maiduguri for an assessment of the military operations against the insurgents.
The Inspector-General of Police and the National Security Adviser were also part of the visit.
The National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, said that their mission in Borno State was to reassess operational situations and hit the ground running.
The Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who had a closed door session with the security delegation, also expressed optimism about the new drive towards the counter insurgency campaign.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, after decorating the officers whose appointments were announced two months ago, lamented the upsurge in the wave of the terror attacks in the north east, challenging the service chiefs not to fail Nigerians.
He charged them to be accountable for all men and equipment under their command, with the welfare of the troops uppermost in their minds.
The President also pledged to give them the needed support, while charging them to protect innocent civilians as well as respect the rights of combatants to earn the support of Nigerians and the international community.
On assumption of office on May 29, the President had ordered that the military’s command centre be moved to the troubled north east to ensure more effective prosecution of the anti-terrorism campaign.
In the mean time, the Nigerian Air Force has moved more of its platforms to the northeast to boost the military operations there.
