Kukawa Attack: Weakening the wits in the war-Bala Ibrahim

In his research on Winning Every Battle But Losing The War Against Insurgency, Christopher Paul, the social scientist with a special interest in counter-insurgency, advanced that, in waging a war against insurgency, the fighter must employ the use of closed fist and open palms, concurrently. Paul was simply saying that, while the battle is being fought physically, the grievances of those with counter views must also be addressed.

Paul went on to say, not all wars are won through the use of force alone. Sometimes, it is particularly pertinent to take into consideration moral issues, like the rightness of the fighter and the wrongness of the belligerent.

In the war against Boko Haram, Nigerian forces are more or less in asymmetric warfare between the belligerent terrorists, whose military fighting power and techniques, differ dramatically with the supposed superior fighting power and tactics of the Nigerian military.

Hence, the need to constantly change strategies or tactics, in a way and manner that is in tandem with logic and modernity.

For some reasons, despite the deployment of close to 100,000 Nigerian troops to the northeast, and the repeated pronouncement by the Government that the insurgents have been crippled, the Boko Haram terrorists seem to maintain their tempo of operation.

Going by recent reports from the northeast region, the frequency of attacks are not only getting higher but gradually becoming bolder. These are making a mockery of the promise made by the President, that the terrorists would be defeated within a time frame.

Sometimes towards the end of May, the media reported that Boko Haram had attacked some homes, churches, and shops in three villages of Biu local government area in Borno state.

The attack was sequel to an attempt by the Boko Haram terrorists to overrun a Nigerian Army base in Gajigana, a town located just fifty kilometres north of Maiduguri. In that particular attack, the insurgents used multiple technicals mounted with heavy machine guns and complicated rifles.

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Again in early June, and in simultaneous attacks, using female suicide bombers on villages located across five different local government areas, Boko Haram fighters launched yet another embarrassment to the Nigerian forces. In addition, there are reports, almost on a daily basis, of robberies, kidnappings, and assaults carried out by these terrorists on the people.

On the 29th of July, Boko Haram operatives attacked the convoy of Professor Babagana Zulum, the Executive Governor of Borno state, near the town of Baga. Although the governor escaped unharmed, there were casualties in his entourage.

In fury, the Governor said to the military commander, “You people said there is no Boko Haram here, then who attacked us?” And, “You have been here for over one year now, there are 1,181 soldiers here, if you cannot take over Baga which is less than 5km from your base, then we should forget about Baga.”

About two days ago, precisely on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, fighters of Boko Haram launched another attack on Kukawa, in Kukawa local government area of Borno State. Kukawa’s residents had returned to their homes just 16 days earlier, under military escort, only for the terrorists to storm the town in 22 trucks, in the early hours of the morning and seize them.

Time without number, the Nigerian government had declared the defeat and weakening of the Boko Haram terrorists, but with what is happening recently, it looks like their capacity still remains undiminished.

While some analysts are linking the lingering insurgency to abject poverty, ethnic and religious tensions, illicit networks, environmental degradation, and porous international borders as causes, some are putting the blame totally and completely on the President, for refusing to see the failure of the service chiefs, whose tenure he continues to extend, long after expiration.

The service chiefs’ perceived failure to adopt a more responsive force and result oriented method in fighting the war, is the general complaint of the public, including the Governor of Borno state, Professor Babagana Zulum. Rather than address these failures, by changing the chiefs, PMB is only giving warnings, that seems to be falling on deaf ears only.

Since the killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, the Boko Haram movement had fractured into independent groups that engage in the insurgency, through Abubakar Shekau, as the rebel commander. After years of fighting, the insurgents have become increasingly aggressive, seizing areas and killing people.

Although there are no exact figures of casualties, the insurgency had led to the death and degradation of countless people and property. In what looks like working at cross purpose, every time the President gives a warning to the service chiefs, something embarrassing happens in the opposite.

In January, the President criticized them over their strategy in tackling insecurity, warning them to live up to expectations, or risk his anger. Shortly after, the situation deteriorated in the north-west, with Katsina, Kaduna and Zamfara states becoming sleepless zones.

Early this month, the President ordered the service chiefs to immediately re-engineer the entire security apparatus of the country. And less than three weeks after, Kukawa was invaded.

The Kukawa attack in the home state of the chief of Army staff, and the region of the chief of Air Staff, has only come to compound the embarrassment the President is receiving in his home state of Katsina, where banditry and kidnappings are fast becoming the order of the day.

Indeed PMB has scored important successes against Boko Haram initially, where many areas were reclaimed from their grip. But still, terrorism remains a major security challenge that requires a more modern and coordinated response, particularly on how to dry up their pool of recruits, through the reinvigoration of security tactics.

Unless something is done in the direction of respecting the views of those against the stay of the service chiefs, who include the legislators, we would only continue to weaken the wits of those fighting the war. And the credibility of the President is on the line.

Bala Ibrahim, a Media Advisor writes from Abuja.