The savagery and intransigent hostility of Boko Haram and the worrisome and apparently ineffective military campaigns of Nigeria's army to contain it are a reflection of the type of leadership that exists in Africa. One would have expected that under normal circumstances, the largest army in Africa of the largest economy of the most populous country, Nigeria, should have been able to obliterate Boko Haram at its inception. But is it actually the army that must be blamed for the failure to eliminate this terrorist group? I clearly recall that a couple of years ago the army was actually hard on Boko Haram. They attacked it with a vengeance and did not give it breathing space, especially as the members of this group were not easily identifiable, which meant that soldiers had to kill or be killed and hundreds of people were reportedly killed, including civilians.
This type of so-called asymmetrical warfare has always resulted in high collateral damage even when carried out by sophisticated and well-equipped armies like those of NATO and the United States of America. Then the opposition Nigerian parties and human rights activists flooded the print and electronic media with their trademark phraseology: that the military had used excessive force and violated human rights; that the solution was not military; that the terrorists were victims of a marginalized society, poverty and deprivation; that it was not Boko Haram's fault but the failure of society, and so on.
During the abduction of the 270 Chibok schoolgirls, former president Olusegun Obasanjo spoke to Al Jazeera TV and claimed that it was the government's fault that this had happened and that he thought dialogue was the answer. According to him, contacts had already been made, the military campaigns were counterproductive and the government was throwing a spanner into the works. Paradoxically, it was Michelle Obama who effectively drew the world's attention to the reprehensible atrocities of Boko Haram, while the government and the opposition maintained a casual attitude before her initiative. In fact, the castigation was such that the armed forces were turned into culprits of brutality and Boko Haram was, unbelievably, glorified indirectly!
This was an unmotivated and ill-equipped army with low morale, which was asked to fight a faceless enemy that is better armed, more highly motivated and well resourced, and yet even the moral support that the army needed became a luxury item. It was, for example, broadcast on VOA News that soldiers in the Nigerian army who were being asked to go and fight Boko Haram had to bribe their officers before being given ammunition. They were given 19 bullets and those who did not want to commit what they thought would be suicide by facing Boko Haram whose soldiers had hundreds of bullets had to bribe their officers. Those who were not able to bribe were literally sent to die. You must remember that soldiers cannot refuse to fight when they are ordered to do so otherwise they will be court-martialed.
According to other sources, military trainers and some good soldiers deserted and joined Boko Haram because they were offered better pay. It is also alleged that some Nigerian politicians are behind Boko Haram in order to make political capital out of this terrifying situation. In a BBC update “Why Nigeria has not defeated Boko Haram” (May, 2014), Nigeria analyst Andrew Walker reported: “‘There's a lack of trust all across the board, politically,' said Ledum Mitee, a former activist from the oil-rich southern Niger Delta. ‘People around the president, his closest allies, all tell him this Boko Haram is manufactured by the northerners to play politics,' Mr. Mitee said. This leads him to distance himself from the whole affair.”
Nigerian society is very complex with competing loyalties and obligations based on ethnicity, religion and political patronage. Nigerians as a people are vibrant, industrious and very hardworking. They deserve better than the picture being painted of them as a result of inept political leadership at all levels. I lived and worked in Nigeria for eight years and I have not the least doubt that my assessment is authentic. If talks of a regional military force by the African Union to flush out Boko Haram are fruitful, then there may be some hope yet that the innocent citizens of Nigeria and the neighboring countries can live in peace and carry on with their legitimate avocations.
Ineffective, irresponsible and avaricious leadership is the bane of Africa, including Nigeria!
