Insurgency: The silence and smokescreen behind the security successes – Bala Ibrahim

If there is one person that has been persistently critical of the performance of Gen. Babagana Monguno rtd, as the National security adviser, NSA, of President Muhammadu Buhari, then that person is me. I have accused him of everything that has to do with indolence and inaction.

Yet, typical of PMB, he continued dealing with him like one that is most striking in content and operational style. As the Commander in Chief, and one that receives all the reports and intelligence, the President knows better than me, far better. To cap it all, yesterday, Gen. Monguno was conferred with the prestigious award of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).

Critics of the President have said many things, with some even describing the award as the reward of failure, because to them, with the ongoing lecturers’ strike, insecurity, poor economy, the President has no business conferring National honours on the NSA, and the ministers of Education, Defence, Finance and others. But as the Commander in Chief, and one that receives all the reports and intelligence, the President knows better than them all, far better.

The issue of space and time may not permit this article to delve in details, into the issues of the economy and the irritating strike of the lecturers, but it would touch, even if peripherally, on the insecurity, and see where lies the collective conspiracy of silence, on the successes recorded by the security operatives against the insurgents.

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For starters, let me do an overview on the recent activities of the military in the north west and north central axis of the country, where even the blind, dumb and deaf, would admit there are positive changes everywhere. This is in line with the promise of the President, that before he leaves office, as a matter fact, before the end of the year, insecurity would be pushed into the books of history.

Only few weeks ago, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, said, pursuant to the directives of the President, to annihilate the insurgents, the military and other security agencies have synergized and sprang to another gear, by adopting kinetic and non-kinetic measures, as a result of which, they are making steady progress in various theatres of operation, despite the challenges facing the country.

I don’t want to be seen as being too brutal on the critics of the government, I would have referred people to the social media pages of Ibrahim M.K Ahmed, an unapologetic, and celebrated supporter of the Buhari administration, where readers would be bewildered, by the volume and quantum of achievements made by PMB, with special attention to the progresses made on the insurgency. Yes, almost on daily basis, IBRO, as he is fondly called by friends, has an update to give on how the military is obliterating the bandits and their cohorts.

It is no longer news that the bandits, who were responsible for the security breach at the Nigerian Defence Academy and kidnapping of students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization Kaduna have been killed by the gallant troops of the military. It is also no longer news that countless number of armed bandits and terrorists have been eliminated by the Nigerian military Air Task Force, under the Operation Show No Mercy, in the same axis of the north central. Military sources say the raids are continuous, and that they are being done in collaboration with ground forces, in continuation of the intensive air and ground troop operations on the terrorists and their enclaves.

As I write this article, reports from Kaduna have confirmed that the notorious bandit, Boderi Isiya, has narrowly escaped being killed, while his deadly second in command and several other fighters were gunned down by the Nigerian Army troops. Other reports have confirmed that another notorious bandit leader in Kaduna State, Ali Dogo, and 30 of his fighters have been neutralized. Dogo, also known as Yellow, and his gang members, who fled from Niger State, were neutralized by airstrikes, while holding a meeting in the hideout of one Alhaji Gwarzo, at Yadi, in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna.

The story is similar in Zamfara, where the military is on the chase of the notorious leader of the bandits, Bello Turji, just as a rivalry war between the bandits is also claiming casualties. A security source said to me, the rivalry war might have been engineered by the security operatives, in an effort to accelerate the annihilation process.

Last week, Nigeria was greeted with the good news from Usman Yusuf, Secretary, Chief of Defence Staff Action Committee (CDSAC), that the remaining 23 kidnapped victims of the Abuja/Kaduna train have finally regained their freedom. Nothing can be more cheering than that particular news of relief.

Yet, as if there is something covert or clandestine, a smokescreen seems created, to underreport, or even silence the successes of the security agents. But when the bandits were haywire, evereywhere in the country was cacophonous against the government.

With hindsight, particularly on the recent security successes, I withdraw my criticism of non performance on Monguno and even tender a small apology, while to the critics of PMB, I refer them to the saying of Madame Patience Jonathan, viz: “Diaries God”.

Ibrahim, APC Director of Publicity writes from Abuja.