I was almost quick to fault the Acting President, Yemi Osibanjo on his claims in the 2017 Democracy Day broadcast of defeating insecurity in the northeast. He had highlighted some strides recorded by the Buhari-led government in the war against insurgency in the region to include the return of displaced persons including farmers to their farms.
On a second thought however, I felt that perhaps just as the Executive President, Muhammadu Buhari and his Cabinet members whom I always thought were lying each time they tried to assure of government’s victory against Boko Haram in the northeast, he might just be uninformed.
Government officials certainly cannot be everywhere. They therefore depend largely on the information supplied to them from their field officers for any policy decisions or statements. The Nigerian government has indeed been on its oars as far as the anti-insecurity struggle is concerned. The allocation of resources for the purchase of military hardware as well as the training of military personnel for the campaign is indeed commendable.
What is however of concern is that while there is still much to be done, baseless pronouncements are constantly being made on how well the fight is going in favour of government troops. Understood, good public relations and conflict sensitive approaches are necessary for the social and psychological wellbeing of the country.
However, those affected by the situation know the truth and could feel discouraged each time the government says things that are not on ground. The insurgents themselves could sometimes be propelled to leave signatures of their continued existence, through renewed attacks whenever government goes public with the half-baked truth.
My recent trip to the northeast where I had the privilege of traveling through a road that is bordered on one side by the Sambisa forest in fact opened my eyes on why Boko Haram is always fond of releasing videos, making daring statements against the government and sometimes calling the officers liars.
The military in Borno state which I toured I must say are brave. They are mere mortals with the same emotions like everyone else. They however defy every comfort to operate in such deadly terrains where they constantly have to live in fear of an unexpected attack.
I even met soldiers who have hardly spent 24 hours with their families in over three years. They don’t get the chance to see civilian faces regularly. Therefore, such opportunities especially during military guarded mass convoy travels which is the fashion especially between Maiduguri and Damboa, always make their excitement palpable.
Those of them that operate in the villages with few traces of civilian residents do not even know who is for or against them as the insurgents at times reportedly send them children and women as spies. They always have to be on guard while at the same time providing security to the civilians in their places of worship, businesses, schools and farmlands.
However, the farms are scattered with some even located miles away from the communities which cannot all be guarded. The soldiers in such places therefore have only had to designate areas and periods within which farming activities can take place. Anything beyond those hours or territories is not their responsibility. By this, the farmers who have their farms located outside of the designated territories which cover only few meters around the affected communities will therefore depend on relief materials, if ever to survive.
Furthermore, in Chibok for instance which I visited, the fertile lands which require little or no fertilizer for any yield are the farthest lands which are unguarded. Those whose farms fall within the guarded areas therefore have the challenge of purchasing fertilizer or risk their chances of making good harvest.
With the growing insecurity in the region however which has virtually crippled socio-economic activities, the resources to get these farm inputs are another challenge. Since government and humanitarian service providers mostly only assist in the area of food supply, any of such needs as clothing, healthcare, toiletries, school fees and among others, farm inputs have to be provided by the people themselves, which in most cases they can’t afford.
This probably explains why the government forces are constantly being accused of human rights abuses in the northeast. This is not because the forces are killing innocent souls as always alleged. Perhaps, it is because innocent souls are sometimes forced by the humanitarian crises in those areas to join the insurgents in order to survive.
The story was told of how Boko Haram invaded villages, captured all the young men and women therein and forced them to accept their ideologies. They also brainwash vulnerable minds with the promises of a flambouyant life after death and enhanced security when they fight along with them. The military therefore sometimes, faced with any threats even from these individuals are forced to apply force.
By so doing, they become more prone to attacks physically and psychologically as they equally face criticisms. For them to stop the insurgents from invading villages and carrying out any forceful recruitment however, it is either they are always overtaken through the aide of unidentified informants in their midst or the lack of sufficient equipment.
South Africa for instance has only about 90, 000 active military personnel while Nigeria has at least 130,000 according to reports. However, South Africa has 12 attack helicopters while Nigeria has nine, 17 attack aircrafts with Nigeria again having only nine, and among others, three submarines with Nigeria having none.
Even the towed artillery which Nigeria has more than South Africa are either not as modern or powerful as those used by the insurgents. They use, wherever they get them from, some of the most sophisticated weapons including rocket-propelled grenade launchers with almost unlimited rounds of ammunition.
The military on the other hand who have some of these weapons in short supply most times have to make do with short range assault rifles with not quite sufficient ammunitions to use. All thanks to their professional training, which perhaps is the only advantage they have against the insurgents.
Perhaps, if the field commanders are always furnishing those at the top helm of affairs with factual reports on how the soldiers are fairing and the level of success attained in the fight, the government would, instead of claiming victory, renew efforts at reinvigorating them.
Now that it appears the government is uninformed, it is left to believe that all is well with the region and its inhabitants, and of course the soldiers, who as at mid-May 2017 had not received their allowances for months. What needs to be done presently is perhaps, setting up investigative moves towards better assessing the situation, by comparing facts whenever reports are filed from the top military officers. That perhaps is the only way to guarantee success in the fight against insurgency especially in the northeast region.
By Masara Kim Usman, Jos, Nigeria