‘Military should talk less, act more’

The efforts at rescuing the over 200 abducted school girls at Chibok in Borno State by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, may be jeopardised by too much talk by the military high command as it delights in going public with sensitive information regarding its operations, stakeholders have said.

 The claim last Monday by Alex Badeh, air chief marshal and chief of defence staff, that the military had located where the abducted girls were being held by Boko Haram militants, has continued to draw flaks. 

A cross section of Nigerians who spoke with BDSUNDAY said the comment was as unprofessional and unnecessary.

 A retired army general from the North, who craved anonymity, said that such frivolous utterances were capable of ridiculing the image of Nigeria before the international community, and could also demystify the country which is seen by its neighbours as a super power in the sub-region.

 “The issue about the secretiveness of an operation such as the one at hand, just as the chief of defence staff has described as very paramount, is very important and must be treated as such. All over the world and in all the rescue operations, for instance the Somalia, the Entebe, they were done with precision and high professionalism,” the general said. 

“Being an ex-military man, I would want to believe that they are sure of what they are doing, otherwise we ridicule ourselves at the end of the day. Having made such a statement, there should be no gap; operations must begin to rescue the girls; again, care must be taken to avoid jeopardising the lives of the girls,” he said. 

“If you watched the TV the other day, on the attempted attack on the military Barracks, it could be because of that statement. I hope they know what they are doing otherwise the lives of those children will be in much danger. Our expectation is that those girls will come back peacefully.

 “My only concern is that the way it is being handled, our immediate neighbours who have seen us as powerful and as such have so much respect for us will begin to withdraw their respect. And the myth around Nigeria as a super power within the sub-region would have been demystified.

“So, anything that will bring back the girls without casualties on the part of the girls is what Nigerians want to see.”

 A former presidential aspirant, who spoke with our reporter, said the military should be more committed to their assignment. 

“Let me tell you something: the military is claiming credit for what it did not do. It is the Governor of Borno who dispatched the local hunters to the forest who discovered where the girls are being held. 

“Then the governor informed the Presidency, and because they have vilified the governor and said many things against him, they now turned round and said it was the military that located where the children are. The soldiers don’t go anywhere close to where the children are, and left for them the girls can never be located, let alone rescued,” he said.

 “Concerning the information being made public by the military, it is to buy legitimacy; but don’t also forget that in warfare there are certain information you release to put your opponent off balance. You make them to go the other way, while you are facing another way; it is a strategy.

 “I am one of those who are very optimistic that something positive will come out of the search at the end of the day. If you look at the collaboration by the international community on the search of the girls, particularly the efforts of the United Kingdom, France and the United States, they are doing a lot towards the rescue of the children.

“The Boko Haram special command is trained by the Al-Qaeda and they are sophisticated in the deployment of their deadly and satanic operations, but the combination of Britain, France and US in waging the war against terror in Nigeria will see the release of the girls. I am very optimistic,” the former presidential aspirant said.

Uchenna Sunday Igwesi, a former majority leader in the Enugu State House of Assembly and former House of Representatives member, described the utterances of the military as “unguarded and unmilitary.”

 According to Igwesi, “What they did is very unmilitary, unprofessional and unnecessary. What they should have done is to keep it to their chest. We are not interested in their strategies. 

“The only information Nigerians are waiting to hear is that the abducted girls have been rescued. What they do to achieve this purpose is none of the citizens’ business. To be telling people what they have done and what they have not done close to two months after the incident is unnecessary.

 “In fact, such utterances are capable of hindering the eventual rescue of these girls because the Boko Haram people can even re-locate them,” Igwesi, who was a deputy chairman, house of representatives committee on banking and currency, said.  

 Ayo Padokun, convener, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform, said the it was a tactical fault on the part of the military high command. 

“Tactically, the military high command is at fault. They have just expanded the view of unreliability expounded by government and some other Nigerians. It is difficult for discerning Nigerians to imagine that the Nigerian chief defence staff could come out to declare they have located where the girls are.

 “If that is so, why not rescue them? Well, Nigerians don’t have a way of determining the accuracy or inaccuracy of that claim. The intelligence and military high commands are undermining the dignity and integrity of Nigerian state. They should keep quiet. What we are fighting with faceless enemies and as a result caution should be applied. So, it is unwarranted and unprofessional for the military to make such comments,” Opadokun said.

 Jude Ejiofobiri, a traditional ruler and Ezeudo 1 of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who spoke with BDSUNDAY on phone, described the information by the military as “unfortunate”, said: “When I heard it, I wasn’t happy because such an information could destroy all the efforts that had been put in place to rescue the girls.

 “May be, the military made the statement to tell the parents of the girls that efforts are seriously on for the rescue. So, it has given hope to the families of the girls. The agitated parents and other relations of the abducted girls may have been enlivened by such news.

 “But the fight at hand demands tact on the part of the military, particularly when we don’t know who is who. The Boko Haram members can relocate the girls and make it difficult for anybody to see them,” the monarch said.

 Ejiofobiri also condemned the unbridled protests by all manner of people and groups, which he alleged bore the colour of greed by some elements to leverage on the unfortunate incident to make money or seek cheap popularity.

“I am not happy the way everybody is carrying placards in the name of protest. Even those who do not have ordinary knife or hammer are marching to rescue the girls. Do they know where the Sambisa forest is located? The protest is not only politicised, it has been hijacked by profiteers and this is not good for our image as a country,” the traditional ruler said.    

Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president last Thursday in a Channels Television news, warned the Nigerian military not to “play public relations propaganda” with the abduction of over 200 female pupils. 

Reacting to Badeh’s statement that the military knew the whereabouts of the abducted girls, Obasanjo said: “This is not an issue that you will play public relations propaganda with.

 “It is a serious issue that is like a spear in the heart of the parents and whatever statement we make and action we take, if it will not really deal with the issue in a way that will bring those girls out safe and secure and make their families happy and will also give every Nigerian a sense of security, then such statements should not be made,” he said.

 The former president emphatically said that he would be pleasantly surprised if the Chibok girls were “returned intact.”

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a legal practitioner, said the employment of the propaganda was to create an impression that something serious was happening.

“When the President said he had declared a total war against terrorism, it is just a paper declaration. There’s nothing much on ground in terms of capacity and the courage to do so. If the foundation is faulty, everything built on it will collapse. People wonder why our solders do well when they go on peace-keeping missions, but otherwise while here. They forget that when they go there they conform to international standard. They are well-motivated; they are provided with everything they need to do well. Our capacity to engage the Boko Haram is not there. On many occasions they have attacked army barracks and even where you never imagined,” Adegboruwa said.

“Concerning the statements over the location of the girls, they were meant to calm frayed nerves, which, however, are not professional,” he said. 

Zebulon Agomuo