₦airaland Forum

Former senior military officers have asked President Goodluck Jonathan to declare total war on Boko Haram.

The retired senior officers, including a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, who spoke with SUNDAY PUNCH in seperate interviews, insisted that there was the need for the Federal Government to cut off food and fuel supplies to the insurgents to weaken their strength. They said government should engage the sect head-on to end the insurgency by the group .

To prosecute the war, they also advised the Federal Government to consider other alternatives to the United States on arms procurement.

Although President Jonathan had, in his nationwide Democracy Day broadcast in Abuja on May 29, 2014, directed the armed forces to launch a full-scale military operation against Boko Haram, the Generals expressed the belief that the war against the insurgents was not full-scale yet.

To clarify what total war implies, a retired Colonel in the Nigerian Army, Paul Ogbebor, told SUNDAY PUNCH it was distinct from other types of war.

He said, “There are many types of war. We have insurgency and the operational mode is internal security operations; that is what we have been doing. There is the guerrilla warfare, which the terrorists are using; they hit and melt away.

“We also have the conventional warfare, which the President and Commander-in-Chief must declare and determine the mode. It could be a police action, which is the lowest level of warfare. He could say he is fighting a war of invasion on enemies encroaching on our territory. That is the type of war we should be fighting now to uproot the enemy.”

Ogbebor, who is one of the first Nigerians to be admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, stressed that the country had yet to begin a full war as it had not applied its national might.

“When you say you are fighting a war, it means that the federal troops are the friendly forces, while Boko Haram should be the enemy forces. It also means that the friendly forces must do everything to defeat the sect.

“As of now, we are fighting insurgency. It is not a national task because, if it were, everything would be directed towards it,” he said.

He, however, said that with less than 200,000 military officers, the country lacked adequate forces to engage in full-scale fighting. He stated that adequate recruitment of both new and retired officers (reserves) to fill up the loopholes was required.

Ogbebor said, “The army of 150,000 should be quickly built up to a minimum of about 500,000 so that we can capture the ground and occupy it sufficiently. Retired officers should remain in their places and join the police for internal security. Internal security should go side by side with total war. What happened in Kontagora or Yobe should not happen; we should have men on the ground for surveillance.”

Citing the Nigerian Civil War, also referred to as the Biafran War, Gowon told SUNDAY PUNCH the purpose of the war was to defeat the insurgents who decided to take up arms against the state.

He said if the aim of Boko Haram was to divide the country, then all efforts must be geared towards crushing the sect.

“We are not fighting the people; we are fighting these insurgent groups. Just like during the civil war, I did not fight all the Igbo people, I only fought those who took up arms against the authorities. There was the order that whatever you do, you should not harm the ordinary people: women, children and old people. It is only those who took up arms against you. That is really the meaning of all-out war — not against the people.

“If the people are backing them (Boko Haram), then they have to contend with the fury of government to restore law and order. I think this is the way it should be understood. It is not fighting a war against the ordinary people, who, in any way, would be running away from the war.

“If anyone takes up arms against you and decides to establish what they call an Islamic state, then I think you can deal with them, because they are really trying to break the country and that must not be allowed,” Gowon said.

On the implications of the war on civilians in the affected areas, Ogbebor said the effects could be managed by the Federal Government as was done during the Nigerian Civil War.

He said, “There is always such a situation in the enemy’s territory where we have to find a way to cut off supplies to the enemies — food, water, communication and electricity — in order to stop things that will encourage them to continue with the war. We had that in the civil war and it was effective.

Similarly, a former Military Administrator of Bauchi and Osun states, Col. Theophilus Bamigboye (retd.) said he was in support of the Federal Government declaring a full-scale war against Boko Haram.

He told one of our correspondents on Friday that the menace of the insurgents and their occupation of territories in Nigeria were taking a long time and it was bad for the image of the country.

Like Gowon and Ogbebor, he expressed his support for any measure taken to flush out the insurgents and return normalcy to the troubled areas.

Bamigboye stated that there was the need to adopt high-powered intelligence to know the actual location of the insurgents and the most appropriate approach to adopt to end their menace.

He said, “You can imagine the strategies adopted (by Nigerian forces) so far and the insurgents are still occupying some Nigerian territories; the issue is still on. I will advocate for a full-scale war so that we can finish the insurgents. It is no longer a local thing.

“We should declare a conventional warfare so that we can deal with this situation and forget about it because the pain and the destruction are going on for too long. I will support a full-scale war against the insurgents.”

In the same vein, a former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar (retd.), said “total war” had begun in Nigeria since 2009, when Boko Haram began its attacks.

He said, “Nigeria has been at war with Boko Haram in the last four and a half years. The President simply made an emphasis in his speech, perhaps out of anger concerning what had transpired two or three months before, where Boko Haram had been torturing one town after another.

“He was simply trying to emphasise that Nigeria was indeed at war and that all hands must be on deck in this war against Boko Haram. Many politicians have considered the Boko Haram attacks as insurgency happening in a distant corner of Nigeria.”

The former military administrator pointed out that Boko Haram was to Nigeria what ISIS was to the Middle East, adding that they both threatened global peace and security.

Efforts to get the Presidency to comment on the calls for total war were unsuccessful. A presidency source, who would not have his name mentioned, simply asked SUNDAY PUNCH to direct its enquiries to the Army.

But attempts to get the reaction of the Defence Headquarters on the issue did not yield any result as calls made to the Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, indicated that his phone was either switched off or out of network coverage area.

However, findings by our correspondents indicated that Olukolade was out of the country.
http://www.punchng.com/news/ex-military-chiefs-to-fg-block-boko-haram-food-supply/

Though this seems to be a good idea, the hidden support of neighbouring countries may weaken this plan. It's not new to anyone again that BH also has great support from Chad, Niger and Cameroun. They can easilly sourced for their food supply from these countries. However, we should consider this option too since there may be some potency in it. God bless Nigeria.

GEJ I wonder why you are still not acting fast on Boko haram.

He's talking from experience

D same experience he use during biafra war

Well he is making sense

[color=#1980BC] [b] Forget it, When half the regiment is sourced from the very same zone with that of BH recruits not to mention sympathizers and moles??Cutting them off is out of the question as the area is not only porous but also strategic bordering three countries with certain malevolence towards Nigeria therefore BH should get supplied one way or another.....Allow BH occupy more towns thus stretching their supply and comms lines which enables armoured thrusts to break through at weak points thus isolating several BH-held territories from each other before conducting 'pincer movements' or flanking actions at each area consecutively allowing for troop movements to 'chokehold' every BH town centre..this kind of war is all about mobility and flexibility not necessarily firepower..... Therefore we will need plenty technicals,BMPs and moderate sprinklings of tanks (mostly T-50s)-which is very necessary to hammer through weak points in the BH logistics chain with minimal loss of lives-Each company to be supplied with mortar units to kill BH armour during close action,sniper teams to give cover fire during close action manoeurves and kill battle field BH command figures thus breaking up BH's morale..This strategy is to be well supplied enough to extend the push more than 500 square kilometres back up to the borders already blocked by another mechanized division- armed with quad barrel technicals,GPMGs(most important)- ambushing with devastating effect.The Airforce should mostly come in for surveillance,close air support if necessary,recoinnessance, quick evacuation of casualties including the wounded and quick injection of fresh personnel at critical points.[/b] [/color]

It is difficult to totally cut off supplies from the insurgents because if they don\t get it from Nigeria, they have other neighbouring countries to get supplies from. The success of this tactics lies in the total cooperation of neighbouring countries.

jamace:
It is difficult to totally cut off supplies from the insurgents because if they don\t get it from Nigeria, they have other neighbouring countries to get supplies from. The success of this tactics lies in the total cooperation of neighbouring countries.

They can sell of the whole Lake Chad basin to the neighbouring countries just ass the sold out Bakassi Pennisula to get Cameroon's cooperation.

I wish this method can work to tamed these dragon called BH. Unfortunately, our boarders are porous and at the same time manned by all these waiting you carry with their 10 naira bribe!
The best panacea to this societal unrest is for FG to arrest all the BH financiers. Alas! Security of life and properties are not in agenda of this present govt their area of specialization is looting and dancing with looters. Chai PDP! Laughing in my dialect.

Goddex:
The US will come acusing Nigeria of Human Rights Abuses

these same ppl will keep quiet wen GEJ is being tried for genocide in icj. Abeg evn if ure cutting food supplies, don't make it public, we saw ihejirikas lesson.

Ok

Gowon only knows how to cut food supplies, ACF doesn't want the insurgents to end because they still see the terrorist as brothers, APC want it to continue because that is th only thing the have against GEj but GEJ will conquer all because God and the masses are behind him.

Block food supply to boko haram?? Now I see why we are losing the war



We keep fighting every war like it's biaffra

good move

BLOCK THEIR FOOD SUPPLY

No method could work better dan dat.
The very strategy Gowon used against biafra.

As much as I stand with GEJ but he shld really do something. Am not asking him to join the battalion, just declare total war on this guys. I meant toatal war not just comin on air to vomit shit and just enter his room...or else he shld allow gowon deal with them.
GEJ till 2019


Afterall "starvation is one of the weapons of war" gowon said after the biafran war in 1970 "u don't expect me to feed my enemies well inorder to fight me".

efobiugochukwu:
BLOCK THEIR FOOD SUPPLY
No method could work better dan dat.
The very strategy Gowon used against biafra.
As much as I stand with GEJ but he shld really do something. Am not asking him to join the battalion, just declare total war on this guys. I meant toatal war not just comin on air to vomit shit and just enter his room...or else he shld allow gowon deal with them.
GEJ till 2019

Your govt will be committing war crime and could lose an important PR war

We just need communities to see the Nigerian Military as the friendly force....

Pennywise:
Your govt will be committing war crime and could lose an important PR war

4get that.
All is fare in war.
Like I said earlier, starvation is one of the weapons of war.

The army personnel needs to be built up ASAP n armed adequately.
The continuing occupation n embarrassment B.H is constituting t d Nigerian state needs be halted immediately.
Unfortunately..d President does not ve d character of a wartime president... Dillydallying for d sake of politics.

Wao! It took so long for a strategy that is so obvious to come as an advice from these Generals ooo!

Gowon is suggesting how best he knows to fight wars! I thank him for his support of FG nonetheless!

Please how do you cut off supply of food and petrol to Boko haram without purnishing the whole north east?