...And our soldiers strayed into Cameroon

IN the course of the battle of August 25, at Gamboru-Ngala, a twin town at the border with Cameroun, our soldiers found themselves inside Cameroun territory, four hundred and eighty of them. It reminds one of the Ukrainian soldiers that crossed over to the Russian territory.

Whether it was enforced withdrawal or 'tactical maneuvering', we give thanks to the Almighty God, at least, they arrived safely. If it is a tactical withdrawal, it is also well, those who fight and run away, live to fight another day. More so, it affords us, the opportunity to retrospect and assess the capabilities of our combined Armed forces, to curtail insurgencies and to institute corrective measures, where necessary.

Amidst all the gruesome killings and calamities that have befallen families, there is one positive to take away and that is; we now know the actual capabilities of our army. It is a good thing that, this country had not made the mistake of going to war with any of our neighbours, it wouldn't have been easy for us.

In today's war, it is not the size of the army that determines victory, but, other factors such as; technology, strategy applied, intelligence, compactness, quality of troops/recruitments, geographical terrain and so forth. Indeed, our dead did not die in vain.

Some months ago, the governor of Borno state came out openly, to say that; the Boko Haram insurgents have superior ammunitions and are better motivated than our troops. In fact, those of us who doubted KashimShettima, owe him a big apology, for doubting his statement. The Chief of army staff said recently that; the barge of equipment to defeat Boko Haram would soon arrive in the country. In other words, we do not have them on ground yet.

So, how have we been coping? We must, indeed, give credit to our soldiers for, their gallantry in holding back the rampaging Boko Haram forces, with the little they have got.

Since1970, after the civil war, our military have never faced any major threat, apart from, pockets of resistance, here and there, along our borders and mainly, containment of coups and civilian uprisings. They never anticipated any revolt of the scale at which the Boko Haram has elevated it today and they have been caught napping.

The principal cause for this, rests squarely at the door steps of our military in politics. Since the military, whether deliberately or inadvertently joined the fray of partisan politics in this country, its capabilities to function to its true calling dwindled. They were unable to build the Nigerian army into a model force for Africa and we have become the laughing stock of our neighbours.

There is none of our neighbours that is afraid of going into battle with us and that is why, they have been apathetic to the insurgents' use of their territories, as a base to launch deadly attacks against Nigeria and Nigerians - Niger, Chad. Benin, Cameroun and Mali, indeed, all of them- no one bothers about the effect of Nigeria's collapse, failing to realise that; the collapse of Nigeria will collapse the whole West Africa- nay African region.

Our military had engaged in coups and counter coups, which have bred so much distrusts amongst its rank and file; favoritism, ethnicity became a factor for recruitments and retrenchments. For example, after the Orkar coup, Officers of the Middle Belt and mid-western regions, were heavily targeted for dismissals, many, unfairly.

When appointments and promotions are not done on the basis of merit, you can never get the best from such institutions and that, was the situation with our army.

The Air Force became almost grounded, after the attempt to use its personnel to carry out coup against the Babangida regime, trainings for Air Force officers was stalemated, new aircrafts purchases were put on hold, so, we ended up with an Air Force that is not up to date, running mainly civilian type errands.

The same is true of our Navy. People say; what happened to the trillions that have been allocated to defense, all these past years? The answer is the same as our refineries, power industry, pension funds, NNPC, and banks et al. Corruption.

The Boko Haram war has just exposed the defense part of it. It was quiet before now because, no one dares to ask questions under military dictatorships. I think, our ability to ask questions now, is one of the gains of democracy.

As it is now, the army does not have the capabilities and until the correct equipment arrive, the Boko Haram war will still linger on.

The government and defense authorities must therefore; make haste, no time to waste, if we are to avoid further loss of lives. It is time for the country to come against the activities of the Boko Haram, very decisively; they seem to be getting bolder.

As I write this piece, we are told that their flag is hoisted in the Gwoza region of the Nigerian soil, meaning that, they are de facto in control of that land. This is unacceptable. Equip the military - Air Force, ground troops, Navy - and save the country from further embarrassment. A country that cannot, militarily, defend itself from both internal and external aggressions can never be said to be a sovereign state.

Added to the above, must be our ability to assert our strength amongst our neighbours. They needed to be put in check. It is along the Nigerian coasts and borders that one finds all sorts of unscrupulous elements - oil thieves, pirates, smugglers, illegal immigrants and so on.

With a modern day army in place, all of these negative activities will be put in check and we can begin to enjoy our peace and respect as citizens of the Federal republic of Nigeria, as for now; we do not enjoy the respect of our neighbours.

Furthermore, the issue of soldiers' morale must be seriously considered, the question is frequently asked; can one die for Nigeria? What should the country do, to encourage its citizens towards this path?

Members of the Boko Haram are very well motivated to die, maybe, through their drugged minds and misplaced religious brain washing. What could make our Nigerian forces face them with equal or more passion? The answer is giving them a sense of belongingness.

Situations where they are made to face a devilish enemy, without sufficient ammunitions are discouraging. Boko Haram should not have superior weapons over our army and the federal government must do everything possible to correct this anomaly now.

In addition to that, their allowances and other entitlements must be paid promptly and all battle gears must be up to date. If it requires the National Assembly's consent, that should be done quickly. The fall of our army is the fall of the whole country.

On the part of the military, they must begin to take the calibre of personnel they recruit into their fold very seriously. Today's army is not for area boys and drop outs. It is the era of intelligence, compact, focus and technologically savvy army personnel; these are what the authorities should target.

Recruit the right type of personnel and take them through the right military drills and trainings, no short cuts. Once their compensation is assured, you can retain their loyalty. I have mentioned in a previous article that; the training and doctrine department of the army must begin to step up its activities. Every soldier must know the reason for which he is in the army and if this is in place, we will find that the rate of desertion will drastically reduce. Before I conclude, I must note here that; the Boko Haram activities grew to this extent because our politicians decided to bring politics into it. If everybody had united in a common fight to suppress their activities, it would have been a forgone conclusion by now.

The citizens of the Boko Haram ravaged areas did not give enough co-operations to our military boys, in fact, they became the enemy within. Our brothers in the north were happier for the country to burn, than for Jonathan- a southerner and Christian - to be Head of the country, so, they started working at cross purposes.

Now everybody has been caught up in the Boko Haram madness, to the extent that; sacred personalities like the Emirs are no longer safe. 2015 is around the corner and some have started drumming the war drums, have we learnt any lessons?