If we were in a country where honour still counts, Air
Marshall Alex Badeh, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff,
would have long handed over his letter of resignation to
the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces. If he didn’t do that, a commander-in-chief with his
hands on the job or a strong resolve to take on head long
the goons, making life hell for the citizenry, would have
done one thing: Shown Badeh the exit door.
If he won’t do that, a responsive National Assembly would
have summoned, not just the service chiefs, as it has
done, but also the commander-in-chief himself, to explain
why life has become this cheap in our country? And why,
despite the huge defence budgets, Boko Haram appears to
be having the upper hand? The Assembly would have
demanded the immediate sack of the defence and service
chiefs. And if the president can’t guarantee safety of lives
and property, he should have no business, calling himself
‘commander-in-chief.’ A commander-in-chief with heavy
casualty figures in peace or wartime should be deeply
worried and embarrassed.
For goodness sake, this is Africa’s most powerful nation.
This is Africa’s largest and best-trained armed forces, that
have acquitted itself in several peacekeeping missions
across the world. Is it enough to simply say, ‘guerrilla fight
is different from conventional warfare’ and watch
hundreds of our compatriots being slain daily by
insurgents? Is it enough to just sit by and watch parts of
our country being annexed by insurgents and all we offer
are rationalisations and condolence messages by those
whose business it is to protect the citizenry?
But, again this is Nigeria. A nation of ‘anything goes’, to
borrow the words of a former army chief, Gen. Salihu
Ibrahim. So, the politicians who ought to lead us out of our
insecurity nightmare, are preoccupied with plotting their
next political moves and campaigning for the next big
offices. Everyone is talking 2015, with a few actually
bothered about Chibok girls. Not many are bothered that
fellow citizens, their compatriots, are being slaughtered
like chickens, goats and rams in other parts of the country.
What a country!
It is not only Badeh that shouldn’t be sitting pretty in
office: The army chief, General Minimah and his
counterparts in other arms of the military as well as the
defence minister, General Aliyu Gusau, should have no
business, bearing their official titles or earning salaries
from the public coffers.
Badeh and the other men, manning our defence
apparatchik, should go, for one simple reason: Inability to
protect and defend Nigerians from terrorist attacks and
the rampaging Boko Haram sect. If a man or group of
men, are so paid to defend the territorial integrity of
Nigeria, and under their watch, hundreds of citizens are
maimed, bloodied and butchered by a bunch of insur­
gents, of what use are they to the public that picks their
bill? Of what use is a defence minister or defence chief,
who can’t defend us? Who can’t rally troops to deal
decisively with the brutal enemies? Of what use are
mountains of excuses or condolence messages to a dead
man or his grieving family?
Under the watch of Badeh and others, Boko Haram has
kept annexing more of our cities and towns in the North-
east, hoisting their flags and declaring their republic,
within our republic. Citizens in Adamawa, Yobe and other
parts of the North-east are living in fear, not knowing when
the goons from hell or wherever, will strike; and definitely
not sure that they have a military that can protect them.
How can the people have confidence in their military,
when even Badeh’s hometown of Vimtim, in Adamawa,
was also sacked by the insurgents? How can anyone have
confidence in a defence chief unable to defend even his
homestead? After Chibok girls were abducted from their
school, another set of 49 secondary school boys were
ambushed and slaughtered in a Yobe secondary school.
These are indeed terrible and embarrassing moments for
our people and nation. That it took a group of rag-tag local
hunters to liberate Mubi from Boko Haram, tells how
terribly embarrassing the situation has got to. And we all
ought to be gravely concerned about this anomalous state
of affairs.
When he came into power January 16, 2014, following the
sack of the service chiefs by President Jonathan, Badeh
was beaming with broad smiles and gusto. He promised to
rout Boko Haram within four months, that is by April 2014.
This is November, and what do we have: A reverse of what
Badeh promised us. Since his assumption of office, Boko
Haram has become even more deadly and brutal. They
captured over 200 school girls from their hostel in Chibok,
on April 14, 2014, the same month Badeh promised Boko
Haram would be history. Their calendar of blood shows
that they are maintaining significant control of many parts
of North-east. It is apparent Badeh has no answer to the
insurgents firepower. He gleefully announced on October
5, 2014, a ceasefire with the sect. He should have known
that terrorist groups have no respect for a ceasefire that
they didn’t ask for. Terrorists have to beg for ceasefire, not
their victims, pleading for one. Emboldened by a weakly-
negotiated ceasefire, Boko Haram unleashed further havoc
and terror on Nigerians in the North-east, hitting Yobe
school, annexing Adamawa towns of Mubi and Michika.
Something definitely has to be wrong with Badeh’s
strategies, which have led to a blundering battle strategy
by our soldiers.
Of course, I am angry, as I write this piece this Sunday
afternoon, reading the news of the capture of Hong,
another major city in Adamawa by Boko Haram. The news
said the group took control of the city, burnt down the
local police post and killed several residents of the town
and its environ. It had earlier attacked two villages in Hong
Local Government Area, before storming Hong main city.
Another news item I read on Saturday, which further
devastated me, was one that reported how our brave
soldiers fought gallantly in Mubi but were soon
overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the insurgents.
In most of the reports, the story is the same: Soldiers
capitulating before the superior firepower of insurgents.
Soldiers fleeing battlefront because they are either ill-
equipped or ill-motivated to confront the deadly guys. We
don’t know if this is true or not, as the military high
command has dispelled such news as rumour. But, if this
is not the correct position, why are we then losing more
territories to insurgents? Why are our citizens being killed
by the day? Something definitely is wrong somewhere.
Something definitely has to be done. Now!
I can hear someone ask if the sack of Badeh and the
service chiefs is the solution to the problem? It is definitely
a big part of the solution. Leadership is everything. We
have to keep sacking until we get the right men, who will
give us the right results!
If money meant for equipment is going the wrong way, a
probe is urgently required. If competence is the issue, let’s
get more competent hands to do the job. In the past, we
were told that once a Gen. Gusau or a Col. Dasuki, got in
the saddle, Boko Haram would fizzle out in no time. The
men have been there for quite a while now, nothing has
changed. Isn’t it time, we audited our men and materials
for optimum results?
There is also the urgent need for a national security
summit. Where are all the retired generals, who fought in
ECOMOG? The men who clobbered Charles Taylor,
Yommie Johnson, and their rag-tag guerrilla army in
Monrovia to submission? Where are our war veterans,
those with little tricks to surmount these insurgents? Let’s
get them talking and involved. I hope Mr. President is
reading?
As I have noted severally on this page, if what we are
witnessing in the Boko Haram insurgency is politics, this is
politics taken too far. If it is about 2015, this must be the
most devious way to get or retain power. Those being
killed are neither politicians nor office seekers. They are
our brothers and sisters; poor, hapless Nigerians, going
about their legitimate means of livelihood, which is even a
mirage for many. Death was far from their minds at the
break of dawn, only to get snuffed out at dusk. Truly, life is
a contradiction!
Source;www.sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=91327

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