We’ve Sent Many Bandits To God To Answer For Their Crimes - Farouk Yahaya

Now That Gen. Faruk Yahaya Is Nigeria’s Army Chief?

by AnaedoOnline
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This column also reminds General Yahaya of the following achievements recorded by the 20th Chief of Army Staff, which he is already aware of. Indeed, he played a part in accomplishing many of them. He needs to retain these noble policies and even improve upon them.

1. Counterinsurgency:

By December 2015 the Army had seized the initiative from the Boko Haram insurgents.  The attacks on soft and hard targets had reduced by 75 percent. This is what made the government to use the term technical defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists (BHTs).  Equally, by June 2016, there were no attacks outside the North East, unlike before when BHT attacks were seen in Jos, Kano, Kaduna,  Sokoto, Suleja, Abuja amongst others.  By July 2017 the incessant suicide bomb attacks had reduced by 90 percent. The years 2017 and 2018 saw the virtual defeat  of the BHT.

What brought about the intermittent set backs were mainly inter-service competition (not conflict), lack of establishment of civil authorities in the recovered local government areas, low police deployment in the northeast, uncoordinated government efforts and of course the resilience of the BHT in regrouping,  recruitment and re-arming.

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The evolution of new tactics, techniques and procedures in the counterinsurgency operations are major achievements.  The Super Camp Maneuver Concept of Operation,  the Mobule Strike Teams, the production of the Ezugwu  MRAP, the Motorcycle Battalion, the revival and operationalisation of the Special Forces Command, etc are all initiatives borne out of the challenges of the counterinsurgency operations. 

2.  Training and human capacity building:

Training and human capacity building are major factors in true military  professionalism. Courses were regularly conducted. Officers and soldiers were exposed in large numbers to foreign courses.  The Nigerian Army will never be the same in terms of the quality of its officers and soldiers. They can compete and excel in all international military engagements.  The Nigerian Army Resource Centre  is one institution that transformed the Nigerian Army (NA) landscape in terms of human capacity building.  It is a  pride for the NA and the country. The Nigerian Army University Biu is one of the best legacies of the 20th Army Chief, General TY Buratai.

3. Exercise: exercise is the best form of military professional training:

The introduction of  realistic training exercises were among the visionary legacies of Lt Gen TY Buratai Rtd. The exercises conducted during the tenure of Lt Gen Buratai Rtd such as HARBIN KUNAMA, CRICODILE SMILE, AYAM AKPATUMA, PYTHON DANCE and SAHEL SANITY were both visionary and strategic. With the conduct of the exercise 2 major objectives were achieved.

One was training of the Nigerian Army officers and soldiers in Tactics, Techniques and Procedures in internal security operations.  Secondly, it also contributed to national security improvement where security challenges across the geopolitical zones of the country were addressed decisively.  During the tenure  of Lt Gen Tukur Buratai,  the IPOB, IMN and MEND amongst others were largely checkmated.  This is in addition to other counter insurgency operations.  The bandits, kidnappers and separatists were also largely decisively dealt with. 

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