Rescue of Cameroon minister's wife; Nigerian military has proved impotent

Only recently over 200 members of Boko Haram sect were alleged to have moved to neighbouring country Cameroon and kidnapped the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, Amadou Ali.

Few days after the abduction, it was alleged that the Cameroonian Army in a successful operation, rescued the abducted deputy Prime Minister's wife. The quick rescue came on the heels of over 200 Female students of Government Secondary Schoool, Chibok, Borno that have been held captive for 110 days now.

With no arrest of those behind the kidnap of Chibok girls and no rescue of the girls by our security agencies, Saturday Vanguard sought to know what the action in Cameroon tells of our security agencies.

I really do not want to draw conclusions on the alleged rescue of wife of Cameroon's Vice Prime Minister that was kidnapped by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram because we do not know what was involved.

However, my view has always been that Nigeria has not done the very best it can do about the Chibok girls, regardless of what has happened in Cameroon.

Our military has proved impotent, very impotent, regardless of what happened in Cameroon. Because Boko Haram can move anywhere and attack Chibok 20 times in one month and not one military confrontation with them. So, it is as if the military has given up on Boko Haram as far as I am concerned.

And they are more interested in attacking civilians, who are unarmed rather than going to Sambisa forest. Regardless of what happened in Cameroon, I think our military so far has failed. What they have done is far from the standard of their training and expenses that we have invested in them.

Former Nigerian Bar Association, NBA President, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba SAN

It means that the Cameroonians have a clear strategy that is working; and that we should emulate what they are doing. It is quite a while that we have been expecting something to come out of the Chibok issue and nothing has happened.

So, if the Cameroonians can do it, I am sure that we can do it. So, the lesson to we Nigerians is that a small country like Cameroon can deal with the Boko Haram problem. We have always said that Nigeria is the giant of Africa, so there is no reason why we cannot do it.

It is just for us to really determine, with a very clear strategy, on how to deal with this Boko Haram issue without looking at it from religion, ethnic and political point of view.. We just have to agree that we have to do it because we are all Nigerians and we are fighting for our kidnapped kids.

Chief Morah Ekwunoh

No doubt, the cheery news of the Cameroonian military's storming of Boko Haram's den, and the prompt, precise, highly successful, commendable and alleged exemplary rescue of their Prime Minister's wife sends loud, clear and unmistakable message to their Nigeria military counterparts. Compare that with the kidnap and detention by the same sect of our school girls from Chibok and you will feel for Nigeria.. No wonder we didn't go to war over Bakassi.

The loud, clear and unmistakable message sent to our military is in clearly multidimensional and multifaceted terms of teaching, if not mocking us about their superior military suzette over and above us;

I am shocked as to the overall messages sent to us by that singular display of their military prowess.

Mr Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa

I am concerned that Nigeria has no will or intention to prosecute the war against Boko Haram or rescue our Chibok girls from the grip of the Islamic sect group. When you compare Nigerian Armed Forces with those of Cameroon in terms of resources and equipment available to Nigerian soldiers, there is no reason why Cameroon will overpower Boko Haram better than Nigeria can do.

"I believe that our leaders are just playing politics with the fate and destiny of our girls. As it is now, we need international help from the United States, European Union and United Nations to rescue the Chibok girls."

Chief Uwazuruike,

The situation here is not the same thing with that of the Cameroonian woman. In the process of rescuing her, 16 people were killed. The Chibok girls' situation is different from hers. Do we start shooting? We are talking about over 200 girls here and if anything is going to be done, the girls have to come out live. They did not rescue her in Nigeria; she was rescued in Cameroon, if our Federal Government should use force, a lot of lives would be lost, it's a gradual process.

Monday Ubani, former chairman of NBA, Ikeja branch

The difference is that the Cameroonian government believed that someone was abducted and they swung into action immediately and the result is that within two days, the woman was allegedly rescued but in Nigeria, it was alleged that there was no abduction until after 17 days. May be if the government had taken action, when it first happened, what we are seeing today, would have been a different story. The Cameroonian government put all the machinery that was necessary in place in order to rescue the woman.

Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, coordinator lawyers in defense of democracy, has been controversial in issues relating to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP where he fought the then leadership of PDP under the PDP Stakeholders' Forum which he headed.

The issue of Chibok girls abduction and the worsening security situation is a clear case of a nation that has completely failed in its basic responsibility of protecting lives and property. The insurgents are digging deep and on a daily basis, launching aggressive offensives while we are on defensive tactics.

Nigeria needs to take the upper hand before it gets too late and a sizeable number of our nation's landmass will be occupied by these insurgents like in Iraq, Somali, etc. The inability of the security agencies to rescue the girls even when they claim that they know their where about is a clear indication of lack of the tactical, moral and leadership capacity to rescue the girls they have seen where they are being kept.

John Dara, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP gubernatorial aspirant in Kwara State and one time Presidential Aspirant of the National Transformation Party, NTP, is a delegate at the on going National Conference.

"Our security agencies have solved many cases of kidnapping and abduction in the past, this one too will be solved. Crimes take time, efforts and resources to get solved, but most will be solved in the end. Our security agencies are not doing badly, given the resources at their disposal."

Military Officer: A retired military officer who did not want his name mentioned, said, "Is all about the intelligence gathering proficiency and operational precision."

If the security forces should attack them without being tactical, we might lose the girls. It's a dicey situation, except one expects the girls to be sacrificed. One has to be diplomatic in dealing with these terrorists, so we have to be tactical in order to bring them out safely. Nigeria is in the spotlight and any action or inaction will be commented upon. Remember, it took ten years to pin Osama Bin Laden down. - Oliver Uzoma Okafor, Civil Servant.

Wale Adeyemi, Banker:

This portrays the current Nigerian government in its real form. A form characterised by gross inefficiency and deceit. It's a shame that a clique of renegades can be so brazen and powerful in the face of our federal might. -

The FG should hide their heads in shame for not being able to to rescue these innocents girls from these terrible lunatics after all these days. I admire the Cameroonian government for taking the bull by the horns and tackling this issue head on.

Henry Umoru, Innocent Anaba, Bartholomew Madukwe, Onuzore Dania & Juliet Ebirim