Irrespective of the fact that Boko Haram military corps is badly trained and ill-equipped, they still ransack villages and towns at will in the northeastern part of Nigeria, in the region that was formerly the northernmost British Cameroons. At the rate of their expansion, it is a matter of time before we are opening embassies in Maiduguri, a major town in northeast Nigeria Boko Haram elements are eyeing.
I am thinking aloud in sympathy with some of the reasons Amnim Abiodun KOMOLAFE has given below as to why Boko Haram elements are still soldering on at will. Here are some of the the reasons:
- The lack of infrastructure others say. It begs a question. Does a well-trained army need tarred roads to drive their luxury vehicles on to get their enemy?
- Cooperation of the local who are promised gold and silver in the name of Allah in case the war will be won by Boko Haram
- The ruthlessness of their operation. They kill everything on their wake
- The tacit and implicit cooperation of retired generals mostly from the Islamic Northern Nigeria. They have no remorse destroying people as lately in Baka, west of Lake Chad of 2000 or more civilians and the using of innocent children as human bombs to destroy their kinds.
- Ability to build arms and bombs at home from scraps metals
- Sympathy of the like as Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and individuals who sincerely believe that they are doing the work of Allah and that the creation of a caliphate will be food for the newly created Islamic state. Unconfirmed master plan reveals that their caliphate will expand from the Sudan, in the east, traverse to Chad, Northern Central African Republic; all of what used to be called Adamawa in northern Cameroon, all of Northern Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and terminate in the westernmost coast of Western African, that is in Senegal and Mauritanian. That is a far fetched ambition of disillusioned group of people. If that were to be allowed, they would bypass that of ISIS in the crumbling Arab Middle East.
- If Nigerians died in drove during the Nigerian-Biafran war (1967-1972) to keep Nigeria one and Boko Haram is out to divide it in 2015 for Islamic religious reasons, hate of Western type of Education, democracy, as we have seen the elements of ISIS carrying on mayhem in Paris and Nigerians are shying away, we are asking now what was the essence of fighting the Igbos who declared the Republic of Biafra?
- Occasionally some Nigerians burst out that Nigeria is a conglomerate pretending to be a country. Of course, their citizens have their allegiance with their tribes first before their country. In which case there is no patriotism. Many still view Nigeria as a British creation for its use and that usefulness had long gone. So what do they want? How could you build a unity government on fragments that cannot be attached?
- Today, the Igbo man is never free in Northern Nigeria for he is ever looked upon by a good number of Hausas as a pagan. It is not by virtue of him being born an Igbo, it is because he is a Christian. Christianity came to his land first. Why should he be victimized for this? Does he hate a Hausa or Yoruba for his religious belief? No. Is it not as idiotic as some persons are persecuted by others because of the color of their skin? Because they are born Jews, black or white in rare cases in the later?
- The Hausa or Fulani man who hates other Nigerians for not being Islam. For this spurious reason he does not know that Africans do and still have their religions and that Islam that came to befuddle them usurped their traditional values and religions. They had relied upon it for the last 5000 years. Islam with its barbaric elements is just a new comer as Christianity and others in Africa. Africans are being senseless to fight one another because of their respective beliefs. Westernization often criticized by some disgruntled Africans had brought phenomenal development in Africa for the Good of Africans and to start castigating it to the extent of killing one another is preposterous. Africans have to welcome wholeheartedly Westernization or perish or expect another recolonization.
Main Boko Haram base in northeastern Nigeria, Lake Chad Basin. The countries on the sketch map are members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission founded in 1964.
Where do Boko Haram get their food, armaments, intelligence and other supplies? If the Lake Chad Basin Commission is serious, Boko Haram will go in a matter of months. There could be their stranglehold and blocking of all routes in and out of their enclave and they will soon flay a white flag. The area is still porous for reasons we have seen. Some of us will remember that in 1942 the Allied were able to defeat the Germans in North Africa because their supply route was cut and Field Marshall Rommel the German North African commander let his General von Thoma commander of the African Corps to surrender to Lt. General Bernard Montgomery. Adolf Hitler had asked for the outcome of the battle of Al Alamein in Egypt to be "death or victory." That was a strong order for a man who was not on the field and who had been on a win-win situation since the beginning of the Second World War, 1939. We guess that is the motto of Boko Haram, victory or death. Therefore if Nigeria or the Lake Chad Basin Commission are sitting to allow the amber to quench by itself they may be in for surprises.
The addendum by an officer in the Nigerian Army adds to some weight to what is preventing the Nigerian battalions from flushing out Boko Haram and their sympathizers from their enclave in the northeast of Nigeria as shown on the sketch map above.
As soldierly as Nigerians forces look, what is hampering them is divided loyalties. A northern Hausa soldier who points his armored vehicle and artillery on what he sees as a ragtag Boko Haram army suddenly sees through his binoculars that he is aiming at his twin brother. You now can see why a country of 160 million is unable to raise an army that can crush Boko Haram. For Nigerians to cry wolf and expect Westerners to march as in France yesterday (Sunday 11 Jan. 2015) when ISIS jihadists, sadly being first generation of Africa immigrants in France who butchered 17 innocent persons is unprecedented.
Europeans expect Africans to run their show. The right time was when Boko Haram abducted the school girls from Chibok. Africans still want to play the game of naivety. By stating that Europeans did not organize a similar three-million march in Paris is discrimination of Africans, makes one to wonder whether Africans states are independent or still attached to the apron strings of their erstwhile colonial masters? Ideally, it should be the place of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) made up of Chad, Cameroun, Niger and Nigeria founded in 1964, to jointly control the natural resources in the Lake Chad Basin, to be responsible for keeping Boko Haram at bay.
The present European generation openly state that colonization was evil and we do not see them coming to rescue an apparent giant of a country like Nigeria. If that were to happen today as it did during the Biafra-Nigeria war of retribution, Britain must have failed in giving Nigeria its political independence. When African states keep on running back to their former colonial masters with particular reference to ex-French countries in Africa, what are they going to present to the world that they could do single-handedly to improve their lots? When it comes to defense, economic planning, education, nomination of ministers, etc, they still want the say of the French authorities. Do they still believe that they are French colonies? Could any African who can ratiocinate actually glamorize colonialism? Do the French not get tired and are those African heads of states not envious and ashamed of essaying to be lotus eaters?
As soldierly as Nigerians forces look, what is hampering them is divided loyalties. A northern Hausa soldier who points his armored vehicle and artillery on what he sees as a ragtag Boko Haram army suddenly sees through his binoculars that he is aiming at his twin brother. You now can see why a country of 160 million is unable to raise an army that can crush Boko Haram. For Nigerians to cry wolf and expect Westerners to march as in France yesterday (Sunday 11 Jan. 2015) when ISIS jihadists, sadly being first generation of Africa immigrants in France who butchered 17 innocent persons is unprecedented.
Europeans expect Africans to run their show. The right time was when Boko Haram abducted the school girls from Chibok. Africans still want to play the game of naivety. By stating that Europeans did not organize a similar three-million march in Paris is discrimination of Africans, makes one to wonder whether Africans states are independent or still attached to the apron strings of their erstwhile colonial masters? Ideally, it should be the place of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) made up of Chad, Cameroun, Niger and Nigeria founded in 1964, to jointly control the natural resources in the Lake Chad Basin, to be responsible for keeping Boko Haram at bay.
The present European generation openly state that colonization was evil and we do not see them coming to rescue an apparent giant of a country like Nigeria. If that were to happen today as it did during the Biafra-Nigeria war of retribution, Britain must have failed in giving Nigeria its political independence. When African states keep on running back to their former colonial masters with particular reference to ex-French countries in Africa, what are they going to present to the world that they could do single-handedly to improve their lots? When it comes to defense, economic planning, education, nomination of ministers, etc, they still want the say of the French authorities. Do they still believe that they are French colonies? Could any African who can ratiocinate actually glamorize colonialism? Do the French not get tired and are those African heads of states not envious and ashamed of essaying to be lotus eaters?
Why we can't defeat Boko Haram – Army Commander writes explosive letter to Jonathan
The officer stated that massive corruption, lack of resources and troops motivation has militated against the quest for a successful campaign to end Boko Haram's deadly reign of terror in the land.
The top military officer's expose which he claims would lead to a threat to his life forewarns that if his pleas continue to be ignored by President Goodluck Jonathan, both the Nigerian Army and the country will soon crumble under the insurgency.
His clear warning: "If all issues raised in this letter are not urgently addressed, the Nigerian Army will soon be history and by implication there will be no country called Nigeria," the officer gravely states. "No country without a strong army will survive."Below is the full text of the Commanding Officer's letter addressed to President Jonathan:
1. Sir, I am constrain to write you this letter which I consider it a matter of more than great importance for me to inform you and put to record issues that are happening in the North East (Operation Zaman Lafiya). I choose this medium to write you this open letter because I have written similar letter but no action was taking which I believe some forces have blocked it are now after my life. Sir I have served in 7 Division as staff officer and presently I am the commanding officer of 103Bn in the field. My combined wealth of experience as a staff officer and now commanding officer are the disturbing fact that necessitated me to write you this letter. While as a staff officer, I was among those who believed that the commanders in the field are not doing well. But presently, as a commander in the field, I found out that it is not the fault of any commander that the defeat of the so called BOKO HARAM (BH) has not been achieved.
2. First and foremost sir, the Nigerian Army is poorly equipped in the North East, if all the battalions are well-equipped as required; it will not take the Army more than two weeks to flush out the BH. Presently there are four units in my location here in KONDUGA including 21 Armoured Brigade HQ. If all the units are provided with all their requirements, we can advance and flush out BH out of North East. Mr. President sir, the Nigerian Army is well-trained and capable of defending our nation. It has demonstrated the capacity to even successfully enforce peace in other nations. Why not in our own country Nigeria?
3. The fact about NE operation is that we are poorly equipped, understaffed, high corruption from Army Headquarters down to battalion level. Commanders see it as opportunity to make money. My predecessor has complained of the same problem. Instead of ASA addressing the issue raised by him, the army authorities decided to Court Martialled him. All the units in NE are understaffed, but on payroll their strength are complete just to collect more allowances than what each unit is supposed to. The commanders see it as a personal money making venture rather than taking care of men and equipment. This ugly trend led to loss of many officers and soldiers and thereby having adverse effect on the moral (sic) of troops. Majority of soldiers in the operation area wear mufti (civil cloths) under their military uniforms in case there is an attack and the troops cannot withstand the BH, they found it easy to disguise as civilians to enable them escape. This is not the traditional practice in the NA. Though it is lack of adequate equipment and poor administration from the higher authority that resulted to this ugly trend by our troops
4. Sir, another bad and unprofessional act is that soldiers don’t take to orders from their superior officers because they have lost confidence/trust from them. The case of former General Officer Commanding 7 Division Major General A. Mohammed is enough evidence to show that all is not well in the Nigerian Army. It will interest you to note that worse cases has been recorded before that of the former GOC and more are still happening, but nobody is ready to investigate the root cause of problems facing the troops in the field.
5. This brings me to a recent occurrence which is my main purpose of writing this letter. As I mentioned earlier, due to the failure of the authority to address issues that I made mentioned, when a unit is attacked and overran by the BH not because the soldiers are unable to fight, but lack of weapons, ammunition and communications equipment, the soldiers on many occasions will ran away, and a commander cannot stand and fight alone as a result of this. Presently seventy percent of commanders in the NE are facing Court Martial due to the reasons mentioned. We the commanding officers are very worried over this development. This is because we many soon find our self as victims of this maladministration from our higher authorities.
6. There is no sincerity in this operation; this is because the present acting GOC has never visited any location outside Maiduguri town not to talk of principal staff officers in Army Headquarters or even the COAS. But we keep on hearing all sorts of lies that Generals are leading the fight against BH. These are facts that can be confirmed from officers and soldiers in this operation including those in the 7 Division Headquarters. The GOC is so afraid that even with the Divisional Headquarters; he doesn’t go out and always locked himself inside his office. Infact it is a common knowledge among officers and soldiers in this operation that the acting GOC is here to make his money and earn his promotion to the detriment of the operation. The completion of his mansion at No 8 Gwamna Road in Kaduna which the GOC ignorantly disclosed that when he completed it, will be among the best houses in Kaduna, has turned to be a subject of discussion among troops.
7. The former 21 Armored Brigade commander is facing Court Martial today because the acting GOC does not want to see him and his garrision in Maiduguri town simply because of the huge monthly allocations from the Borno State government to the brigade garrision. He wanted to be collecting his money by using 7 Div Garrison, but in reality 7 Div Garrision does not have troops to claim such money. It is worthy to note that the GOC received 33,000 litres of AGO and PMS each, 600 bags of rice monthly from Borno State government. All these items are diverted for his personal use.
8. Recently the newly appointed 21 Brigade commander lead 3 units to flush out the BH, that operation was successful, almost 300 BH were killed, weapons and vehicles were recovered from them, in the process the troops exhausted their ammunition from the Div, the GOC simply replied that there was no ammunition this made all the troops to withdraw back to KONDUGA.
9. Presently more than 3000 officers and soldiers are either killed in action, deserted, captured as POW or on AWOL. But due to lack of proper administration the army directed that their salary should be stopped. This affect the families of those that are either genuinely killed in action or captured as Prisoners of War. It has also affected some of the troops that are still participating in this operation.
10. Mr. President sir, if all issues raised in this letter are not urgently address, the Nigerian Army will soon be history and by implication there will be no country called Nigeria. No country without strong army will survive. I decided to write you this letter because the life of officers and soldiers trusted in my care are no longer save. My life is also at the stake because the NA authority as usual will say I have communicated directly to you as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and may sanction me. As a citizen of this country and a commander in the operational area, with all the points I have mentioned in this letter, it is clearly that the Military authorities have failed the country, as such they should be held liable for their misdeeds.
I have consulted seasonal constitutional lawyers if writing you this letter will be an offence, but they said it is my constitutional right to inform the C in C about what is happening in the NE and within the military which if not address will affect the survival of Nigeria.
(Source: OluFamous) 2014.
Second Revelation appended for your review:
Second Revelation appended for your review:
Al Qaeda Linked Billionaires Fund Buhari’s Campaign – By Lloyd Ukwu
Articles, Columnists, Lloyd Ukwu, Muhammadu Buhari (1983-85), NNP Columnists, PresidencyThursday, March 12th, 2015
By Lloyd Ukwu | Port- Harcourt | March 12, 2015 - The All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Mohammadu Buhari recently returned from a visit to London. He went to London for a medical treatment. The grueling presidential campaign had taken a toll on the ailing Septuagenarian and he desperately needed medical attention. His appearance, while in London, at the Chatham House was merely a smokescreen; it dissembled the object of the visit: medical treatment. Although, the APC presented his London visit as a “working visit”, he failed to attend most of the programs organized as part of his “working visit”. His Chatham House appearance allowed the APC an opportunity to sell the Buhari presidential candidacy to the world, and especially, the United Kingdom. At the Chatham House, he presented a paper titled “Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in Africa: Nigeria’s Transition”.
The Chatham House hype belied the outrageous cost of that public relations outing for the APC. It cost the APC about N5 billion. The money was for the payments for the speaking engagement, numerous foreign consultants, air tickets for the huge APC delegation (including a contingent of governors), the purchase and renting of vehicles, hotel bills and other logistics.
Unknown to many, is that the London visit also allowed Buhari the opportunity to source funds from a number of Arab donors. Despite repeated denial by General Muhammadu Buhari and the APC of being sponsored by Arab countries and businessmen, intelligent sources revealed that Mr. Buhari made contacts with at least two Saudi billionaires with links to the Al Qaeda terrorist group. He solicited and received their financial support for his presidential campaign.
That Buhari is seeking financial help from Arab billionaires is fathomable. There are indications that some of his erstwhile financial backers are now withholding their funding from his political quest. Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, an APC stalwart, recently made it clear that he cannot continue to fund the Buhari campaign because he needs money to pay state government employees. Another major financier of the Buhari campaign, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is disenchanted with the APC. Consequently, he is hobnobbing with the ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). And once provided a soft landing, he will readily return to the PDP. He has since seized to be a financial supporter of the Buhari candidacy.
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State was one of the most important financiers of the APC presidential candidate. Notorious for his flippancy and reckless remarks, he repeatedly embarrassed the APC with his unguarded statements. In one of his brazen remarks, he said that Nigerian soldiers fighting the Boko Haram insurgency can justifiably disobey orders from their commanders. Legal experts considered his statement treasonable because Section 44 of the Criminal Code provides that: Any person who attempts to (a) seduce any member of the armed forces of Nigeria from his duty and allegiance; or (b) to incite any such persons to commit an act of mutiny is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for life. The party tried to rein in his glibness. Piqued by his party’s remonstration, Amaechi is sulking, and in retaliation against the party, is holding back funds from the Buhari campaign.
With the once bloated coffers of the Buhari Presidential Campaign drying up, Buhari is in a desperate need of money. As such, he is reaching out to Arab donors for money. The sourcing of money by Buhari from Saudi businessmen with links to global terrorist groups is illegal. The Nigerian electoral act prohibits political candidates from raising foreign money and /or taking money from foreign donors. Yet, in his characteristic disdain for the constitution and national laws, Buhari went with cap in hand to London, begging money from fundamentalist Saudi Arabian billionaires with ties to both Al Qaeda and ISIS. It is important to note that Buhari, his Saudi sponsors and the leadership of both ISIS and Al Qaeda are all fundamentalist Sunni Moslems.
Buhari’s ties to terrorist group, Boko Haram (with its enduring ties to Al Qaeda) that has lately declared its affiliation with ISIS have never been in doubt. For an earlier proposed negotiation between the terrorist group and the Nigerian government in Saudi Arabia, the Boko Haram chose him as its representative. He once proposed a general amnesty, financial rewards, jobs and political appointments for Boko Haram terrorists. Before he started feigning the image of a national, unifying figure and trustworthy presidential candidate, he was critical of the Nigerian army for killing Boko Haram members and his supporters celebrated Boko Haram attack on Nigerian soldiers.
Lloyd Ukwu, a lawyer writes from Port Harcourt.
lawgroupinternational@gmail.com
0802 317 4444
The Chatham House hype belied the outrageous cost of that public relations outing for the APC. It cost the APC about N5 billion. The money was for the payments for the speaking engagement, numerous foreign consultants, air tickets for the huge APC delegation (including a contingent of governors), the purchase and renting of vehicles, hotel bills and other logistics.
Unknown to many, is that the London visit also allowed Buhari the opportunity to source funds from a number of Arab donors. Despite repeated denial by General Muhammadu Buhari and the APC of being sponsored by Arab countries and businessmen, intelligent sources revealed that Mr. Buhari made contacts with at least two Saudi billionaires with links to the Al Qaeda terrorist group. He solicited and received their financial support for his presidential campaign.
That Buhari is seeking financial help from Arab billionaires is fathomable. There are indications that some of his erstwhile financial backers are now withholding their funding from his political quest. Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, an APC stalwart, recently made it clear that he cannot continue to fund the Buhari campaign because he needs money to pay state government employees. Another major financier of the Buhari campaign, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is disenchanted with the APC. Consequently, he is hobnobbing with the ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). And once provided a soft landing, he will readily return to the PDP. He has since seized to be a financial supporter of the Buhari candidacy.
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State was one of the most important financiers of the APC presidential candidate. Notorious for his flippancy and reckless remarks, he repeatedly embarrassed the APC with his unguarded statements. In one of his brazen remarks, he said that Nigerian soldiers fighting the Boko Haram insurgency can justifiably disobey orders from their commanders. Legal experts considered his statement treasonable because Section 44 of the Criminal Code provides that: Any person who attempts to (a) seduce any member of the armed forces of Nigeria from his duty and allegiance; or (b) to incite any such persons to commit an act of mutiny is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for life. The party tried to rein in his glibness. Piqued by his party’s remonstration, Amaechi is sulking, and in retaliation against the party, is holding back funds from the Buhari campaign.
With the once bloated coffers of the Buhari Presidential Campaign drying up, Buhari is in a desperate need of money. As such, he is reaching out to Arab donors for money. The sourcing of money by Buhari from Saudi businessmen with links to global terrorist groups is illegal. The Nigerian electoral act prohibits political candidates from raising foreign money and /or taking money from foreign donors. Yet, in his characteristic disdain for the constitution and national laws, Buhari went with cap in hand to London, begging money from fundamentalist Saudi Arabian billionaires with ties to both Al Qaeda and ISIS. It is important to note that Buhari, his Saudi sponsors and the leadership of both ISIS and Al Qaeda are all fundamentalist Sunni Moslems.
Buhari’s ties to terrorist group, Boko Haram (with its enduring ties to Al Qaeda) that has lately declared its affiliation with ISIS have never been in doubt. For an earlier proposed negotiation between the terrorist group and the Nigerian government in Saudi Arabia, the Boko Haram chose him as its representative. He once proposed a general amnesty, financial rewards, jobs and political appointments for Boko Haram terrorists. Before he started feigning the image of a national, unifying figure and trustworthy presidential candidate, he was critical of the Nigerian army for killing Boko Haram members and his supporters celebrated Boko Haram attack on Nigerian soldiers.
Lloyd Ukwu, a lawyer writes from Port Harcourt.
lawgroupinternational@gmail.com
0802 317 4444
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