Bodunrin Kayode
Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Zulum recently called for the establishment of permanent military bases in Sambisa and other known troubled spots in the state. The call was obviously one aimed at ending the insurgent war which has eaten over 15 years of the GDP of the once commercially vibrant state which should have grown more than it is now. Borno should have been competing with commercially vibrant Kano if not for the destruction of the State by Boko Haram.
For keen observers of the insurgent war in the north east of Nigeria, “known” means that the insurgents are still milling around specific areas of the topography of the state and residents see them and avoid their locations. They have obviously been cleared from a large chunk of Borno State but still loiter around the Tumbus islands for instance. The islands are so many that nobody has record of the exact number of them since God put them there with loads of fish and crude oil underneath. The Nigerian Navy has equally not been able to make much impact progress either because of the massive thickness of hyacinth on the top of the water or lack of the right equipments which itself is a major challenge. Some security observers who spoke to this reporter on anonymity feel the navy is just being lackadaisical because it’s a lake and what if it dries up one day? But these are not tenable excuses for them not to be able to dominate their environment from Baga to the last island on the Nigerian border.
And that is why a permanent base of the Nigerian Navy must be built that will dominate the environment long after the war has ended. Their presence in Baga is still very skeletal compared to the work load ahead. One agrees with Governor Zulum on this because the Nigerian section of the islands must be well secured if tourists must come in long after the war is put behind us. Zulum desperately wants the war to end so that residents who cannot go into their farms can return easily and contribute to the productivity of the state.
The insurgents really don’t have the guts anymore to barge into the capital Maiduguri neither do they disguise and visit relatives regularly like before as sources tell us they still do in Ngamdu, Jakana and Kareto. Even the relatives some of them visit before are under watch by the intelligence services making life difficult for such relatives who used to get gifts and phone calls from them. But going by the observation of the civilian jtf boys who fight along with the troops, they are still inside the density of the savanna at alageno forest. But more noticeable is their presence on the Mandara mountains which has given them cover for a long time sending discomfort to the people of Gwoza. They always go back to Sambisa even after being chased out which is why one of the biggest permanent barracks must be built inside the place for elite forces as soon as possible.
Zulum actually made the call during the last Chief of Army staff conference which took place in the 7division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri Borno State in December. Even though the Army top brass did not make any open acknowledgement to his vital suggestion, it obviously may have rang a bell within the ranks of defense policy makers and the Commander in Chief of the Armed forces, President Bola Tinubu who were present during the occasion.
The establishment of a special forces military base in the Sambisa forest for instance will assist in ending the lingering insurgency which has paralyzed development in the entire Borno State and North East Nigeria. As a matter of fact, this is exactly where special forces trained for counter insurgency should be asked to pin down now before the war ends. We are aware that there are super camps stationed in several areas in the war theatre to stop insurgents from over running troops pin down areas. But if I can read the mind of the governor, he is talking about permanent bases long after this war ends so that another scourge will not creep into the polity again while troops are holed up only in the confines of the 7 division in Baga road maiduguri as it where.
There are so many natural resources placed under the ground by God apart from oil which has been confirmed in adjoining areas for troops to be pinned down permanently under the 7 division of the Nigerian Army, the Airforce and Navy components. Imagine the Airforce with one of the biggest bases in the country on the Mandara mountains which can enable them to see anyone entering the country on espionage mission. By the time the right resources are put together to mount sophisticated platforms, a complete surveillance of the border territorial areas can be guaranteed.
Nigeria’s hundreds of porous borders will begin to get special attention to ward off the next set of aggressors.
Looking back with hindsight, even though the military has been able to retrieve a large chunk of the nation’s territory from the hands of the insurgents in Borno Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states, it is obvious that it is not yet uhuru for the ordinary resident because the insurgents keep tormenting them by instilling fear and making life difficult for them in the hinterlands. That is why it is difficult to predict when the war will end even after 15 years of this lingering asymmetric confusion. A war that has caused so much pains for Nigerians and our troops. Hundreds of our troops have paid the supreme sacrifice in the last 15 years and the counting continues. And that is why it makes sense for the three arms of the military to take over these sensitive territories and pin down permanently. That to me is what Zulum meant by the creation of bases in the comfort zones of the enemy and pitching our elite troops against them once and for all. After they must have been cleared the expansion of the base with all the sophistication of a modern army will begin to fall in place.
Also the relaxation of troops seen by observers is like getting 60 percent marks in an examination and just when you want to relax with your pass, you are told that the external examiner is saying that you are not worth more than 40%. A lot of gains were made by the present Defense Chief General Chris Musa while he was theatre Commander. Many more were added when he became the Chief of the Nigerian infantry under the management of Lt. General Farouk Yahaya. Major General Ibrahim Ali who took over the theatre after General Musa also did his best in the kinetic and non kinetic aspects but they all suffered from the same malaise of not having enough boots on the field because there were no strong bases around these strategic locations to assist. Bringing troops from all the way maiduguri is usually a long process when one considers the dangerous roads constantly endangered by improvised explosive devices (IED’s).
Equipment matters in war but when you don’t have enough boots on the ground in some areas, it is a disadvantage in non conventional wars like this. As a matter of fact if there were bases on those three designated areas of lake Chad, Mandara mountains and Sambisa forest, this war would have long been concluded at this axis and the bandits would not have been emboldened at the north west axis of the country by boko haram or Islamic state of west Africa (iswap) within the Bay states. The iswap have more refined rules of engagement but any armed person in uniform is a common enemy.
The north east end of the country is a vital portion which is why the Commander in Chief President Tinubu must listen to this timely call of the Chief security officer of Borno State who is Governor Zulum to establish these bases to end this war once and for all.
Indeed, a large chunk of the boko haram insurgents and their Commanders have been decimated including the notorious Shekau but the inability of the security agents to finish the job has given the insurgents enough operational space to re-strategize and return to vacuums left unfilled by the security forces. Creation of these permanent bases would be done as soon as defense headquarters makes up its mind to do so. As for progress made in the war, one expected the last theatre Commander to have improved on what his last two predecessors did but unfortunately he was very weak in the kinetic and paid more attention to the non kinetic aspect of his job.
