Army’s Performance Against B’Haram Below Expectation – Ex-COAS

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, has rated the Nigerian Army low in its battle against the Boko Haram insurgents, saying the military performed below expectation.

The military’s inability to vanquish the terrorists, he said, made the international community to question its professionalism, noting that the lack of political will had also made the fight against the insurgents look impossible.

Dambazau said this in Abuja on Thursday at the 12th Daily Trust Annual Dialogue Series with the theme, “2015 Elections: How to Make Nigeria the Winner.”

According to him, the security forces  have deviated from their constitutional responsibilities and left the country in a dangerous situation.

He said, “The conduct of the army against Boko Haram was below expectation and its professionalism was questioned by the international community. The insurgency situation in the North-East has exposed the weakness of our military and the lack of political will has made the fight against the insurgents look impossible. Nigeria is in a situation where continued politicisation of its army had weakened its military response.”

The retired army chief also accused politicians of creating private and well funded armies to push their personal agendas.

“It is very clear the extent to which politicians have used money to establish private armies,” he noted, adding that the last 15 years have witnessed militarisation of politics, long after the first coup in the 60s politicised the military.

Dambazau said such lapses have fuelled the growth of insurgencies, including the emergence of the ‘Borno ECOMOG’ to execute personal agendas in Borno State and its subsequent metamorphosis into the violent Boko Haram sect.

“It started with 1966 but the last 15 years have witnessed deeper politicisation of the military and the police,” he stated.

Speaking on the theme “2015 Elections: How To Make Nigeria The Winner,”  former education minister, Oby Ezekwesili said, Nigeria has been winning by successful transitions in the past, but it was time for Nigerians themselves to win.

Ezekwesili who almost broke down in tears over tragedies suffered by countless Nigerians in the past, from the Civil War to the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram last April, decried the citizens’ loss of empathy, stressing that they need to stand as a nation.

She  said, “How could we pick up and move on? All agitations of being marginalised somehow never seemed to have persuaded Nigerians until Jos practically began to go up in smoke.

“The same lack of empathy characterised the growth of Boko Haram insurgency, which intensified with widespread bombings and the Chibok Girls kidnapping. Now our own military repels what started off as ragtag insurgency who, when their effect was not being felt in the whole of Nigeria, expanded their attack.

“The ease with which citizens look away, refusing to be drawn into matters that they consider other people’s problem is an acceptance of the Equal Opportunity to Suffer Syndrome.”