A Nigerian Counter Terrorism expert has said that the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east is a kinetic threat facing the country.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Captain Felix Iheanachor said that “what we are dealing with, is not a conventional threat. We call it a kinetic threat and therefore, the tools used to fight a conventional war are different from what you use in fighting kinetic threat.
“The country needs a multi-agency process to be in place. It is not only meant to be within the province of the military”.
He, however, gave details about the difference between terrorism and Boko Haram sect attacking communities in Nigeria’s north-east.
“Terrorists seek to cause maximum destruction and they are motivated by radicalisation on a belief system. Whereas, insurgents seek to control territory which has a limitation to the level of damage they want to cause. They are more restrictive and selective in the use of terror as a weapon.
“Therefore, terrorism has migrated to insurgency in the north-east. Boko Haram members were terrorists who were not taking territories in the past, they were religion extremist.
“You can’t use bombs or guns to destroy what is in a man’s heart, but to deradicalise such individuals and the population they seek to recruit from”, he stressed.
National Counter-terrorism Agency
In solving the problem of terrorism, Nigeria should have a National Counter Terrorism Agency, which according to the counter terrorism expert, the media should be included in such Agency,” he maintained.
Speaking holistically about the happenings in Nigeria, Mr Iheanachor said Nigerians initially did not believe there were terrorists in the north-east.
“I could recall what happened in 2010 when Nigerians believed terrorism was not in the country. In 2010, when former President Goodluck Jonathan travelled to the US on his first official trip, Christiane Amanpour asked him about his thoughts about the counter-terrorism in Nigeria, he replied by saying ‘there wasn’t terrorism in the country’,” he said.
Mr Iheaneachor, however, said that Nigeria was on course of solving the problem of terrorism, but that Nigeria was playing catch up for now, expressing optimism that with the current administration, the country would stay ahead of the game.
“I see a lot of wisdom and strategy in what President Muhammadu Buhari is doing so far especially in the appointment of the Chief of Defense Intelligence.
“It is also very instructive to know that the choice of pedigree of the person of the Chief of Defense Intelligence is a good strategy by the President”, he added.
