BlowBack:


Wrong! Soldering is not supposed to be a suicide venture. Yes the job is dangerous as being a soldier you are trained in the art of killing other soldeirs trained to do the same to you. But that is where the risk ends.

Proper planning and organization by military commanders is expected to mitigate that risk towards achieving a military advantage or victory.

I watched a Vice Magazine documentary on Boko Haram and how the Nigerian Army was engaging with Boko Haram. The Military commander in that documentary had his troops dig a trench round their camp. That was his sole and primary line of defense with a T-72 Tank as the spear tip of his defense.

There were so many things wrong in that video which highlighted to me that the Nigerian Army's Officer corp is in dire need of overhawling their existing military manuals.

A T-72 Tank is not needed in fighting BH who had at best in their arsenal light skinned civilian Toyota trucks.

The Toyota trucks can easily outmaneuver an armoured Tank and a Tank needs at least a platoon to form a perimeter defense round it.

Google Toyota War and see how Chadian Rebels were able to defeat the more advanced Libyan army and you will understand what I am talking about.

What is needed against BH are light and blazing squads or platoons constantly in recon patrols and quick to come to each others defense in less than one minute.

100 or more soldiers in one stationary position, cut off from supply lines with poor communications link and support from base command is a juicy target begging to be attacked.

Spot on !!!! We really need to retool our military strategy ..

I no believe the OP. 1 billion USD is not evident and tribalism is evident. Maybe still part of their Jihad to kill other tribes

PatrickOkunima:


They were shot inside their trenches, but are you 100% certain they're out of ammo?

Yes they had been expecting re-supply for days and had ran out of heavy calibre ammo ..

BlowBack:


Wrong! Soldering is not supposed to be a suicide venture. Yes the job is dangerous as being a soldier you are trained in the art of killing other soldeirs trained to do the same to you. But that is where the risk ends.

Proper planning and organization by military commanders is expected to mitigate that risk towards achieving a military advantage or victory.

I watched a Vice Magazine documentary on Boko Haram and how the Nigerian Army was engaging with Boko Haram. The Military commander in that documentary had his troops dig a trench round their camp. That was his sole and primary line of defense with a T-72 Tank as the spear tip of his defense.

There were so many things wrong in that video which highlighted to me that the Nigerian Army's Officer corp is in dire need of overhawling their existing military manuals.

A T-72 Tank is not needed in fighting BH who had at best in their arsenal light skinned civilian Toyota trucks.

The Toyota trucks can easily outmaneuver an armoured Tank and a Tank needs at least a platoon to form a perimeter defense round it.

Google Toyota War and see how Chadian Rebels were able to defeat the more advanced Libyan army and you will understand what I am talking about.

What is needed against BH are light and blazing squads or platoons constantly in recon patrols and quick to come to each others defense in less than one minute.

100 or more soldiers in one stationary position, cut off from supply lines with poor communications link and support from base command is a juicy target begging to be attacked.

sir you've made a great point here, I think every of the possible cause of this great lose outlined here on this thread in one way or the other generally affected this out come, but the most significant of them all is the bolded above, this is the singular cause of the huge casualties, why this is the case I don't know....

Do you think there could be moles sabotaging the NA?

FarahAideed:


Yes they had been expecting re-supply for days and had ran out of heavy calibre ammo ..

That's very unfortunate, but even if that were the case, they still had their AK 47 rifles with 7.62mm ammos. They should make optimal use of that, which in this case, they did not.

But if you're telling me that they had no ammo at all, then they also share in the blame. I'm saying this because, if I were in a location in which there's no ammo at all, and attack is imminent, I will not even be there to witness the attack.

samuelchimmy:
sir you've made a great point here, I think every of the possible cause of this great lose outlined here on this thread in one way or the other generally affected this out come, but the most significant of them all is the bolded above, this is the singular cause of the huge casualties, why this is the case I don't know....

Do you think there could be moles sabotaging the NA?

Moles? Yes. Their motives however may be varying from being sympathetic to the Jihadist quest, to being compromised over monetary gain. This is Nigeria after all and the Nigerian Army is not known for their transperancy neither are they not immune from corruption.

PatrickOkunima:


That's very unfortunate, but even if that were the case, they still had their AK 47 rifles with 7.62mm ammos. They should make optimal use of that, which in this case, they did not.

But if you're telling me that they had no ammo at all, then they also share in the blame. I'm saying this because, if I were in a location in which there's no ammo at all, and attack is imminent, I will not even be there to witness the attack.

On the day they had only rifles to fall back On and matched against horrendous fire power of Boko Harams pick up mounted DSKH technical machine guns not many could hold their defence line without breaking down either in fatality or flight .

If I was to be in charge of running this war to uproot BH, I will do it with as many as 20,000 men in platoons with no more than 30 men under the command of a Lt. Each platoon will comprise of a medic, heavy gunner, sniper, scout team of 4 men, radioman, Platoon sergent and an explosives expert. I will organize four to five platoons within an operational area of no more than 10 mile radius under the command of a Major or Captain who will in turn report directly to a Company commander who will oversee the operations of 5-6 of the latter.

Situational Awareness is key and as such I will invest heavily in communications, drones and body cams. All info will stream direactly to base command in the very heart of Borno.

Military operations will be on for 24hrs. Why should BH get any sleep? Not on my watch. I WILL ENSURE THAT THEY KEEP RUNNING EVEN IN THEIR SLEEP.

If we can sustain such an intensive Search & Sweep operation for 72hrs, Bokos will be fatigued from mere lack of sleep.

In all honesty, I feel what we have in our arsenal are only fit for the museum. These antiquated weapons been given our gallant men, like someone pointed out can only be effective against unarmed civilians.

I was thinking, how many Night vision goggles are even available to these guys? How many night vision binoculars?

Wouldn't it be better our Airforce conducted some reconnaissance on the location of those blood suckers after which they send in a well armed Calvary to obliterate them at night?

That attack should serve as a major impetus for a holistic change of approach towards confronting these demons. We can't afford to keep recording such huge losses after the meagre gains we make.

So so sad.

Jeswino:
I no believe the OP. 1 billion USD is not evident and tribalism is evident. Maybe still part of their Jihad to kill other tribes

The thread is obviously beyond your wits end. You may kindly excuse us.

Thanks.

It's still all about lack of adequate training. Running from boko haram was one mistake too many. If all of them had stood their grounds and made their bullets count, we wouldn't be typing these too many RIPs.
Nigerian soldiers are resilient and always ready to pay the ultimate price, just give them the required training and gadgets.

During my UN mission days, the ones I did work with were all in high spirits.

Now, I feel like being of help to the helpless soldiers.

This is sad. Buhari as once a military man has failed this country.

Nigerian will soon forget this recent killing, we always do.

Corrinthians:
In all honesty, I feel what we have in our arsenal are only fit for the museum. These antiquated weapons been given our gallant men, like someone pointed out can only be effective against unarmed civilians.

I was thinking, how many Night vision goggles are even available to these guys? How many night vision binoculars?

Wouldn't it be better our Airforce conducted some reconnaissance on the location of those blood suckers after which they send in a well armed Calvary to obliterate them at night?

That attack should serve as a major impetus for a holistic change of approach towards confronting these demons. We can't afford to keep recording such huge losses after the meagre gains we make.

So so sad.

Does your average BH insurgent have standard night vision googles?

I don't like reading about the lame excuse of not having weapons to fight with as this to me is not an excuse. The standard AK47 rifle issued to Nigerian army personnel is a very good weapon and is no more sophisticated than the same AK47 BH members carry.

The issue to me is that the men at front have been there for too long and need to be rotated at most every 6mths with fresh legs.

BlowBack:


Does your average BH insurgent have standard night vision googles?

I don't like reading about the lame excuse of not having weapons to fight with as this to me is not an excuse. The standard AK47 rifle issued to Nigerian army personnel is a very good weapon and is no more sophisticated than the same AK47 BH members carry.

The issue to me is that the men at front have been there for too long and need to be rotated at most every 6mths with fresh legs.

Our military capabilities shouldn't be at par with that of our enemy. Whatever the case may be, we must strive to have the upper hand materially and otherwise.

Having those materials we are talking about won't only enhance our physical capabilities, they'd also boost the morale of our fighters knowing they have superior weapons and advantage over their enemy.

That's what I'm saying.

MajorJeffery:
It's still all about lack of adequate training. Running from boko haram was one mistake too many. If all of them had stood their grounds and made their bullets count, we wouldn't be typing these too many RIPs.
Nigerian soldiers are resilient and always ready to pay the ultimate price, just give them the required training and gadgets.

During my UN mission days, the ones I did work with were all in high spirits.

My friend, this is not like in the movies.

One minute of a fire fight feels like an eternity.

They saw BH members numbering well over 500 streaming around them from every angle and they knew the nearest and fastest support they will get will not come.

These BH guys are known to down amphetamines when going for their missions.

The Americans first saw what amphetamines does in Iraq war. The drug is known to give unusual courage and strength. It has been dubbed the choice of drug for terrorists.

As for the Nigerian Airforce, count those ones out. They limit their operations to only daylight hours since none of their aircrafts is equipped with night vision or even common weather radars.

Boko Haram is basically composed of apprenticed terrorist who are trained on the job on how to fire an AK47 at anything in their way. They should be no match for the Nigerian military even when you consider the open vegetation they operate in.

Corrinthians:
Our military capabilities shouldn't be at par with that of our enemy. Whatever the case may be, we must strive to have the upper hand materially and otherwise.

Having those materials we are talking about won't only enhance our physical capabilities, they'd also boost the morale of our fighters knowing they have superior weapons and advantage over their enemy.

That's what I'm saying.

Giving some one a chest of tools doesn't make him a mechanic.

Those weapons in the hands of a poorly trained, ill motivated and badly organized bunch of soldiers will sooner or later find their way to the hands of BH.

How many times have we read of BH members overrunning a fully stocked Nigerian base and from there showcasing the captured weapons to the world?

The problem isn't lack of weapons but very poor organization and strategy.

FarahAideed:


Spot on !!!! We really need to retool our military strategy ..

Yes but unfortunately that won't happen anytime soon as the Nigerian Military was re-engineered towards internal threats involving civilian uprisings. It exists only to maintain the Nigerian nation state and that is why Military bases exist across the country not to protect the people therein from external invaders but as a policing force with an occupational mentality.

The Nigerian Army has been having to many "victories" gunning down defenseless civilians and pillaging villages that they thought they were invisible. Then came Niger Delta Militants who not only used the swamp and creeks to their advantage but were able to force the Nigerian Govt to accede to their demands all because the Nigerian Army was totally clueless in dealing with them.

Now BH should be easier, since they operate in a more accessible environment and terrain but given that quota system and false bravado still thrives in the Nigerian Army, we see a bunch of Mai-ruwas, Mai Gworos and Mai Shais dealing massive blows to them on a daily basis.

Something is wrong and it is down to the Buhari types of incompetent officers that got commissioned into the army all because of their ethnicity and religion.

femu:


Apart from surveillance there is little the airforce can do in a close proximity fight without hurting friendly forces.

The army should have their own means of surveillance which includes at a minimum binoculars and radios for every soldier.

The most important is having strong intelligence.

femu:


Against an anti aircraft gun? Didn't you see the helicopter running away in the video

Hehehehe

BlowBack:


Yes but unfortunately that won't happen anytime soon as the Nigerian Military was re-engineered towards internal threats involving civilian uprisings. It exists only to maintain the Nigerian nation state and that is why Military bases exist across the country not to protect the people therein from external invaders but as a policing force with an occupational mentality.

The Nigerian Army has been having to many "victories" gunning down defenseless civilians and pillaging villages that they thought they were invisible. Then came Niger Delta Militants who not only used the swamp and creeks to their advantage but were able to force the Nigerian Govt to accede to their demands all because the Nigerian Army was totally clueless in dealing with them.

Now BH should be easier, since they operate in a more accessible environment and terrain but given that quota system and false bravado still thrives in the Nigerian Army, we see a bunch of Mai-ruwas, Mai Gworos and Mai Shais dealing massive blows to them on a daily basis.

Something is wrong and it is down to the Buhari types of incompetent officers that got commissioned into the army all because of their ethnicity and religion.

Are you referring to the Amnesty program? If yes, then you have no idea what transpired. The Amnesty program was a demonstration of goodwill from the president. It was a stick and carrot approach, of which the program was the carrot aspect of it. The stick part which you do not know is that the military launched an assault on all known militant camp, killing a good number of them.

Before then, these guys thought they were a match for the military, because they succeeded in killing some of our soldiers in small numbers. Some civilians even used the opportunity to taunt us. That we are lazy, and that the militants are more equipped than the military.

I tell them, "After God, is Government. The day the Nigerian government decides to put an end to this nonsense, it will do that, using the Nigerian soldiers."

And behold, sometime in 2009, something happened that made the government say "enough is enough." I cannot share what happened on this forum. It happened in Delta State. If you ask a military person who served in Niger delta at that time, he may tell you the story.

I will say the same on the Boko Haram issue, the day the Nigerian government decides to end Boko Haram, that day will be the beginning of the end of Boko Haram, and it is the Nigerian Soldiers (Army, Navy, Airforce) that will make it happen.

At the moment, the government is still using the lives of the soldiers to play politics and make money, which is one of the reasons the soldiers are not happy. One of the factors killing their morale.

I hope you get my point?

DDeliverer:
Until you realise that BokoHaram has infiltrated the Nigerian army, until you realise that majority of the soldiers that keeps dying are southerners, until the think about it....and realise how disastrous it would be when only hausa/fulani control the military/guns, then you would know how easy it is to islamize this country which is the endgame.!

90% of hausa/fulani soldiers are BokoHaram.

So what can we southerners/Christians do? I expect our politicians and men of God to have a contingency plan to save christians. I am serious about this and I am ready to do all it takes to protect christians.

We can't all run out of Nigeria because of muslims na.

PatrickOkunima:


Are you referring to the Amnesty program? If yes, then you have no idea what transpired. The Amnesty program was a demonstration of goodwill from the president. It was a stick and carrot approach, of which the program was the carrot aspect of it. The stick part which you do not know is that the military launched an assault on all known militant camp, killing a good number of them.

Before then, these guys thought they were a match for the military, because they succeeded in killing some of our soldiers in small numbers. Some civilians even used the opportunity to taunt us. That we are lazy, and that the militants are more equipped than the military.

I tell them, "After God, is Government. The day the Nigerian government decides to put an end to this nonsense, it will do that, using the Nigerian soldiers."

And behold, sometime in 2009, something happened that made the government say "enough is enough." I cannot share what happened on this forum. It happened in Delta State. If you ask a military person who served in Niger delta at that time, he may tell you the story.

I will say the same on the Boko Haram issue, the day the Nigerian government decides to end Boko Haram, that day will be the beginning of the end of Boko Haram, and it is the Nigerian Soldiers (Army, Navy, Airforce) that will make it happen.

At the moment, the government is still using the lives of the soldiers to play politics and make money, which is one of the reasons the soldiers are not happy. One of the factors killing their morale.

I hope you get my point?

At the bolded: It couldn't have been more than the usual approach of sacking an entire community. Their usual trademark of leaving a trail of blood and sorrow.

Yaradua knew the Military's only approach was to raise down communities in order to force the civilian population to stop being sympathetic to the Militants. How did that same approach help the Nigerian Army after they raised down Boko Haram's and Yusuf compound in Borno? That move alone radicalized the jihadist more to the point where we are today and we are talking 9 straight years of sustained open warfare by BH on the Nigerian state and people.

Yaradua also knew that he will not get any sympathies from either the West or the Niger Delta people who voted massively for him so he took the only sensible option which was a political solution to solve a political problem.

The Nigerian Army would have suffered more if Yaradua had not granted amnesty and most likely Nigeria would have since broken up with the Niger Delta demanding for outright secession.

FYI, no community was sacked by the military.

Try to comprehend my post. I wrote, the reason for the government taking a decisive action against the Niger Delta Militants.

At the bold, that's a lie. Do your research, besides Tompolo and a few others, the real militants did not benefit from the amnesty. So, the amnesty did not help the Army in any way.

BlowBack:


At the bolded: It couldn't have been more than the usual approach of sacking an entire community. Their usual trademark of leaving a trail of blood and sorrow.

Yaradua knew the Military's only approach was to raise down communities in order to force the civilian population to stop being sympathetic to the Militants. How did that same approach help the Nigerian Army after they raised down Boko Haram's and Yusuf compound in Borno? That move alone radicalized the jihadist more to the point where we are today and we are talking 9 straight years of sustained open warfare by BH on the Nigerian state and people.

Yaradua also knew that he will not get any sympathies from either the West or the Niger Delta people who voted massively for him so he took the only sensible option which was a political solution to solve a political problem.

The Nigerian Army would have suffered more if Yaradua had not granted amnesty and most likely Nigeria would have since broken up with the Niger Delta demanding for outright secession.

PatrickOkunima:


Are you referring to the Amnesty program? If yes, then you have no idea what transpired. The Amnesty program was a demonstration of goodwill from the president. It was a stick and carrot approach, of which the program was the carrot aspect of it. The stick part which you do not know is that the military launched an assault on all known militant camp, killing a good number of them.

Before then, these guys thought they were a match for the military, because they succeeded in killing some of our soldiers in small numbers. Some civilians even used the opportunity to taunt us. That we are lazy, and that the militants are more equipped than the military.

I tell them, "After God, is Government. The day the Nigerian government decides to put an end to this nonsense, it will do that, using the Nigerian soldiers."

And behold, sometime in 2009, something happened that made the government say "enough is enough." I cannot share what happened on this forum. It happened in Delta State. If you ask a military person who served in Niger delta at that time, he may tell you the story.

I will say the same on the Boko Haram issue, the day the Nigerian government decides to end Boko Haram, that day will be the beginning of the end of Boko Haram, and it is the Nigerian Soldiers (Army, Navy, Airforce) that will make it happen.

At the moment, the government is still using the lives of the soldiers to play politics and make money, which is one of the reasons the soldiers are not happy. One of the factors killing their morale.

I hope you get my point?

i admire your optimism, but the reality of the day suggests otherwise. The truth is We have a weak Armed Forces, quite sadly. For some reason the Nigerian army, fearsome back in the day is now a disappointment. I fear that our neighbors... Niger, Cameroon, Chad, may be getting all sorts of ideas, and if push everyone got to shove, we may not be able to defend our country from a foreign attack.

PatrickOkunima:


The Nigerian Airforce bleeped-up as they always do, but that's not the best our soldiers can do. I have watched all the videos and I'm telling you from experience that they could have done much better with the available resources.

If American soldiers find themselves in the exact situation, would they have had 70 casualties? No, partly because they understand the risk of not fighting the enemy.

Nigeria Air Force is a problem in our fight against Bokoharam as they don't usually show up and when they do is either they quickly run out of ammo or turn up after Bokoharam have overran our Military positions.

A commanding officer should know when his men should hold their ground or retreat when overwhelmed by the enemy but in most cases they flee due to breakdown of their main weapons.

Where were the reinforcement at their hour of need?

The United States Army and marines always call for air support whenever they see or notice that a larger force is attacking them or they feel that they will be overwhelmed.

I know a lot about the Military as i have close relatives who were at one point or the other in the Nigerian Military; Some fought in the Nigeria Civil war and survived it, several went to Liberia and Serria Leone at the heat of the conflict, likewise friends and they all survived but some died later in active service through road accidents while some retired as officers ( red necks).

I likewise have friends who fought in Liberia and also cousins and friend in the United States military. I worked with a 3 star general for over 7years and also a major.

Our soldiers are very good at what they are trained for but their welfare should be well taken care of, likewise the proper weapons should be provided for each soldier/ unit.

Let me say that the Military command should not be seen as a religious or tribal thing; they should let the best and most calpable hands take over the mantle of leadership and take the fight to Bokoharam rather than wait for Bokoharam to bring it to them.

Inconclusion, the air force have an active role to play because a well equipped Army without Air support is almost like a sitting duck waiting for the hunter to take a shot at her.

BlowBack:


At the bolded: It couldn't have been more than the usual approach of sacking an entire community. Their usual trademark of leaving a trail of blood and sorrow.

Yaradua knew the Military's only approach was to raise down communities in order to force the civilian population to stop being sympathetic to the Militants. How did that same approach help the Nigerian Army after they raised down Boko Haram's and Yusuf compound in Borno? That move alone radicalized the jihadist more to the point where we are today and we are talking 9 straight years of sustained open warfare by BH on the Nigerian state and people.

Yaradua also knew that he will not get any sympathies from either the West or the Niger Delta people who voted massively for him so he took the only sensible option which was a political solution to solve a political problem.

The Nigerian Army would have suffered more if Yaradua had not granted amnesty and most likely Nigeria would have since broken up with the Niger Delta demanding for outright secession.

This is very spot on. I align myself with this opinion.

PatrickOkunima:
First, may the souls of our soldiers who lost their lives at Melete find eternal peace. Their sacrifices will not go in vain. It is also my prayer that the Almighty God console their families.

I have watched the footage of the recent attack on our soldiers, as well as the previous ones and most commentators, including civilians and soldiers (retired and serving) attribute the heavy casualty to lack of equipment.

Having served in the military, I have a first-hand experience of how sophisticated hardware can be a morale booster to a soldier. There are other factors that affect morale which I am not here to discuss. So I know what I'm saying when I say lack of equipment is not the major problem.

All the Boko Haram videos I watched, I observed a common trend - Our soldiers did not put in adequate resistance or did not resist at all. That is "unsoldierlike" (if there's any word like that).

As a soldier, you hope for the best and prepare for the worst. What do I mean? I have seen soldiers, Nigerian soldiers who served 35 years, and throughout their service, the only time they fired a rifle was at the range. They never had the opportunity to shoot at a real enemy. On the other hand, we have soldiers who in less than 3 months of passing out from the training school, found themselves under enemy attack and lost their lives in the process. You see, best case scenario and worst case scenario. Everyone hopes for the best, but if you are not prepared for the worst, you have no business being a soldier - That's by the way.

People may have different opinions as to why the casualty was high - over 70 as reported, but for me, lack of orientation was the problem. An average person believes that the best way to escape danger is to run. That may be true in some cases, but in the war fronts, nothing makes you more vulnerable than running away from the enemy. Let me rephrase, the easiest way to die in the war fronts is to run away from the enemy. If you're a soldier reading this, please take note. If you're not a soldier and you have a friend or brother who is, please tell him or her.

Let's try to look at it this way. Every other factor remain constant, assuming all the soldiers at Melete base are 100 in strength, and were attacked by Boko Haram (500 of them). If each of these soldiers had stood their grounds and engaged these terrorist, do you think we would have had up to 70 casualties? No, I very much doubt that. The worst case would have been 15 - 20 deaths.

The probability of me losing my life:

If I do not fight the enemy is 70/100 = 0.7

If I fight the enemy is 20/100 = 0.2

With this mindset, every soldier will prefer to engage the enemy and increase his chance of survival.

"If the enemy attacks, what and what do I do to survive?" That's the question I ask myself each time I find myself in a volatile environment.

Then, I outline my plans:

1. If I'm not armed, I dash down to the armory.

2. There won't be need for 1, If I have a weapon.

3. I Take cover.

4. I cock my rifle and open the safety catch (I do not put my rifle on rapid)

5. I take position, aiming the barrel of my rifle in the direction I anticipate the enemy to come from.

6. I place my finger on the trigger, waiting for the enemy.

7. I scan for the enemy, and pull the trigger as soon as I have a clear shot.

NOTES: There are some steps I did not highlight, like charging my magazine and loading my weapon. But one thing that is not in my plan, is to turn my back at the enemy and run away from battle.

And the only conditions in which I can surrender are:

1. I run out of ammo.

2. My weapon got jammed and there's no time for me to fix it.

Though I did not see a lot of action, but the few I saw, the only reason I survived is because I engaged the enemy.

The Nigerian Military should put it into the skulls of our soldiers that when they refuse to engage the enemy, they suffer more casualties. They should also conduct simulation exercises for the men (If they have not been doing that already) before operations and in preparedness for an attack. They should not assume that everyone knows what to do in the event of an attack.

Please share, you may be saving a life.

Shut up .. I-diot.

PatrickOkunima:


Are you referring to the Amnesty program? If yes, then you have no idea what transpired. The Amnesty program was a demonstration of goodwill from the president. It was a stick and carrot approach, of which the program was the carrot aspect of it. The stick part which you do not know is that the military launched an assault on all known militant camp, killing a good number of them.

Before then, these guys thought they were a match for the military, because they succeeded in killing some of our soldiers in small numbers. Some civilians even used the opportunity to taunt us. That we are lazy, and that the militants are more equipped than the military.

I tell them, "After God, is Government. The day the Nigerian government decides to put an end to this nonsense, it will do that, using the Nigerian soldiers."

And behold, sometime in 2009, something happened that made the government say "enough is enough." I cannot share what happened on this forum. It happened in Delta State. If you ask a military person who served in Niger delta at that time, he may tell you the story.

I will say the same on the Boko Haram issue, the day the Nigerian government decides to end Boko Haram, that day will be the beginning of the end of Boko Haram, and it is the Nigerian Soldiers (Army, Navy, Airforce) that will make it happen.

At the moment, the government is still using the lives of the soldiers to play politics and make money, which is one of the reasons the soldiers are not happy. One of the factors killing their morale.

I hope you get my point?

Stick and carrot approach my foot!

The militants were well-funded thanks to oil bunkering and tacit support by the region's elite. The Nigerian military was NEVER going to win that war. Not in a million years. It was that realization and the global financial crisis of 2007/2008 that led to the Amnesty program.

Before you talk about 2009, you'd recall Odi bombing of 2001 and the repression of thousands of activists/protesters under Abacha. The Nigerian state and the military had been itching for the conflict for years and the entire region was prepared to support it to the end of the earth. Which is why till date there are still camps, and every sitting governor in the SS is a friend of the creeks. 90% of the population in the ND still support that insurgency till date. Everyone knows someone on a first name basis that fought in the war.

The major problem with BH is that there are sympathizers and saboteurs within the military. Some of them are idealists like those in Qatar funding IS from the comfort of their golden palaces. Some do it for politics. Others do it for the steady money burned to prosecute the war. The result is massacres of this magnitude.

METELE wasn't a hurried attack. It was meticulously planned and ISWAP needed and got valuable intel to carry out their attack successfully. It's the same thing in Afghanistan and Pakistan especially. Pakistan is a nuclear power and key figures and cells within the Pakistani Intelligence Community actively prop up the Taliban. It's why the US refused to share intel or seek their permission before sending the SEALs to take out Osama.

Boko Haram/ISWAP will continue to operate until the West gets tired of the nomenclature. Supports an offensive to degrade them. Then a new sect will rise in its place. As for those joining the military to go to the front lines. It's better to be a mercenary if you can't find anything useful to do with your life. Because you are and always will be disposable. Pieces of meat for those in places of authority to use in their games.

-Lord

Poor orientation as you put it, is merely a euphemism for cowardice. That's what I've been screaming from the rooftop. I am livid with rage whenever any bastard mentions "outdated weapons" or lack of ammunition as reasons for the repeated embarrassment by Boko Haram. Boko Haram had only crude weapons and the regular AK - 47 and RPGs. Whatever military hardware and relatively sophisticated weapons they now have were acquired 100% from their previous raids of military formations! It's disgusting.

The simple reason is cowardice and incompetence, not anything else.

Yes in a sense you're right about poor orientation, but in the sense of being orientated to do gra gra with unarmed "bloody civilians" rather than being a professional and disciplined force. You'd see them dishing out frog jumps and 'roll inside gutter' punishments to harmless and unthreatening civilians in the streets, and shooting to kill IPOB and Shiite protesters armed with only stones and sticks. But when they encounter real threats like Boko Haram, they run away. Useless animals. Shame.