Boko Haram is not winning the war, but neither is the Nigerian military. On Wednesday the army lost nine men while Boko Haram lost ten in a battle.
In foreign news two weeks ago, the leader of ISIS, Al-Bagdadi was killed. It is not a secret and Nigerian military thinkers cannot feign ignorance of it. The three strategies used by the United States effectively to decimate ISIS are the following:
First, terrorists must be denied fresh recruits through the education of the general public. The Nigerian government is lacking in that, instead, it gives the sect the upper hand in propaganda and recruitment driven media.
Second, terrorists must be denied access to funds. The Nigerian government is doing the opposite, paying huge ransoms to Boko Haram to free Chibok girls for political gains. The media show attested to that.
The third is an effective war strategy and the use of force. This strategy needs a combination of the other two to succeed.
Boko Haram is persistently resurgent because the military has not taken the battle to them in Sambisa. Yes, the forest is big, but that is why we have airforce and drone technology.
It is a shame that 186,000 strong military is only capable of deploying 16,000 troops to the frontline. If Nigeria takes the war seriously, the military should be able to match every Boko Haram fighter with 10 men equipped with body armor and night vision capabilities. Boko Haram attacks in the night, so night vision is critical to the success of airforce and ground forces.
What is stopping the government from acquiring body armor to minimize casualties on troops? How much is night visual equipment that the government is not able to buy any?
Of recent, the army deployed a hundred tanks to South East in a show of shame when they are needed elsewhere in the Northeast.
By Aliyu Nuhu