Why we are winning war against insurgency, by Buratai

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai has identified the political will of President Muhammadu Buhari, the leadership of the Nigerian Army as well as the resilience of the troops as the secret behind the milestones recorded so far in the fight against insurgency in the North –East geopolitical region of the country.

Buratai, who also listed the professionalism of the troops and support of Nigerians as key to the success story, hinted that his officers were also deploying same guerilla approach to dislodge and destabilise the Boko Haram Islamic group.

Addressing journalists after a courtesy call on Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State in Ibadan, the army chief noted that his men had retooled with the introduction of motorbike battalion to forestall attacks by the terrorists.

“It is the political commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari, the government, the leadership of the military who are very committed as well as the troops on ground who are committed and professional coupled with the full support of all Nigerians.

“We are using the same guerrilla strategy adopted by the terrorists. We are giving them back their own strategy. We have motorbike battalion which has added more capacity as well as the ability to move quickly to wherever the terrorists are,” Buratai said.

The COAS, who was in company of other top military brass, said a number of actions had been intensified to enable the military effectively deal with the insurgents.

“We have intensified a number of actions that will help the troops get to the terrorists before they run out of their hideouts or cause any havoc.

“To totally wipe out Boko Haram, we require the support of everybody. They live among us and are everywhere and we require very good intelligence to fish them out. But the most important thing is to prevent them from having the capacity to launch attacks on innocent individuals and on our troops’ location.

“But in the long run, we require long-term planning, long-term surveillance, long-term intelligence gathering so that the remnants can be picked from here and there apart from those who show up with their weapons which we are dealing with right now,” he added.

Earlier the governor commended the army for its efforts in upholding the unity of the country.