Troops Shouldn’t Be Judged By ‘December Deadline’ Alone -Borno Residents

By Abdulkareem Haruna (As published  by Leadership 9, 2015)

Weeks to the December 31 deadline when the nation’s army is expected to flush out Boko Haram insurgents and reclaim all seized territories, residents of Borno state – the epicenter of the insurgency – said they are happy with the progress, so far, made by troops in the front line. 

The residents said though it would be a thing of joy should they wake up on the last day of December to see Boko Haram fizzle out, most of them are not under any illusion that an insurgency that existed for over six years would be wiped out completely in three months. 

This opinion was popular even as the nation’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Gabriel Olanisakin, had last week, in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, averred that the December 31 deadline given by President Muhammadu Buhari remains ‘sacrosanct’. 

Comrade Zanna Shettima, a former Borno state labor leader and medical health practitioner said, in his opinion, “the military has done very well if we must compare the situation we have now, with what was obtained in the past years”. 

The ex-labour leader said “even God will not be happy with us if we should go to town condemning the military after what they have helped our troubled state to achieve in terms of peace and security”. 

“In the past, no one sleeps with his two eyes closed: fear walks on fours in our streets and even inside our homes because Boko Haram terrorists were busy gunning down and slaughtering innocent persons both at night an in broad day with all impunity. In the past, we hear Boko Haram move in convoy of vehicles, killing people in the villages, sacking residents and taking over communities. 

Boko Haram had taken a sizeable portion of Borno that is larger than some smaller states in this country. But today, though we have pocket of attacks in the form of suicide bombing, we still thank God and praise the soldiers for what they have achieved for us”. 

On whether he shares the optimism that Boko Haram would be wiped out in the next 22 days, the former NLC leader said “I do not share such optimism that Boko Haram would be wiped out; but we are optimistic of better peace and security at the end of the year.

Barrister Aliyu Biu, a renowned Maiduguri based legal practitioner said though the military personnel executing the counter insurgency operation may not have been perfect in their given tasks.  

“The Nigerian military deserve all the needed commendations and encouragements”, said Aliyu. “We have had and seen worse days in the last six years”, said the lawyer. 

“The northeast was a theater of bloodshed: but today, the reverse seems to be the case. We are enjoying relative calm now; no one hears gunshots other than news of reclaimed towns, destroyed terror camps, retrieval of arms and ammunitions, arrest of suspected terrorists whose pictures were published and so on”.

Barrister Aliyu and Comrade Zannah who were once known as unrepentant critics of the military however said the troops must step up their human right protection attitude as they both chorused: “no noble cause justifies the abuse of human right”.