Nigerians hardly agree or indulge
themselves in collective appreciation of the performance of any public officer.
It is like a cherished culture of endless criticism, the people hate to
relinquish. It is worse when the matter at stake concerns a national issue and
the personality at the epicenter of the heat delights more in verbal
justification job than action. Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai Chief of
Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai But there appears to be a unanimous consensus on
how the current Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai has handled
the ongoing war on Boko Haram insurgents in the North eastern part of Nigeria.
The war on terror is a global phenomenon, but since terrorists took a firm,
offensive grip on Nigerians, the country has known no peace, manifest in all
facets of national life. It was like a puzzle that can never be solved. But
Gen. Buratai has given Nigerians hope of survival and dignity in their darkest
hour, much as he has vibrated deadly labyrinths. Until his appointment July 13,
2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari, as Nigeria’s COAS, Gen. Buratai was the
Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force, headquartered in the Republic
of Chad. He succeeded Gen. Kenneth Tobias Jacob Minimah as COAS, whose reign
diminished the once proud army which regaled in excellence on foreign
assignments, anywhere in the world. Under Minimah, Nigerian soldiers were
re-classified and derogatively described as worse than ragtag militias, evident
in troop’s sheepish retreat in the middle of battle. Boko Haram militants held
the country on its jugular, recklessly killing, abducting, conquering and
annexing territories of Nigeria with their insignia boldly mounted. Credentials
of the Borno-born Army General are replete with trappings of excellence
anywhere he has served the country before now. As Commander 2 Brigade covering
other parts of the Niger Delta region, where he doubled as the Sector Commander
Joint Task Force Operation Pulo Shield, Buratai brought respite to Nigerians in
the restive Niger Delta region by significantly curtailing oil theft, piracy,
kidnapping and armed robbery through relentless security surveillance and
operations. But what appears to have shot him to limelight is his new job as
COAS. Many attest that upon his appointment as the Army’s helmsman, Buratai
deemed it a personal mission to rescue his people. But when he vowed to
confront the insurgent’s headlong; the terrorists mistook his outbursts as the
same empty bragging of his predecessors. Administering their usual baptism of
fire on whoever dares them, the insurgents immediately unleashed an attack on
his home town in Biu LGA of Borno, killing and destroying houses. While the
action of the Islamic sect members was meant to permanently silence Gen.
Buratai, it surprisingly rather emboldened him. And with President Muhammadu
Buhari’s relocation of the military command structure to the epicenter of the
Boko Haram war, Buratai perceived it a rare opportunity to again excel in his
military career. Son of Alhaji Yusuf Buratai, a World War II veteran, the COAS
reminisced his father’s admonishments to him at a tender age, when opted for
the military. He remembered that his father, now aged told him to strive to
excel and always be loyal to his superiors and constituted authority and to
distance himself from any form of vice. So, he considered failing Nigeria in
the insurgency war as failing his own biological father. Therefore, having
climbed the ladder in his military career to get to the peak, Gen. Buratai
dammed the coziness of his office in Abuja, laced his boots, cocked his guns
and personally led troops to the battle field. It was a marked departure from
the disposition of COAS before his arrival on the scene. To demonstrate that he
is an Army General with proper grasp and briefs of his new assignment, Buratai
restructured the Nigerian Army hierarchy by deploying his subordinates to
superintend on new commands stations or areas. He set out to task with a
singular mission; firstly, to boost the very low morale of troops, which
hitherto made them dread war and by extension, to also extract a commitment
from soldiers that insurgency is a war that must be won in record time, to
enable soldiers get back to their regular duties. Thereafter, Buratai
frequently toured the zone embattled by insurgency war, even to dreaded Boko
Haram controlled zones. It was on one of such mission that his convoy was
ambushed while travelling to Maiduguri-Gamboru-Ngala. No senior officer of his
ranking or portfolio had rendered himself to be caught in the crossfire of
insurgents in the past. But Buratai braved the odds and did not only deflate
the potency of the terrorists who attacked his convoy, but also arrested some
of them who later made useful confessions. It is clear that the Nigerian Army under
Buratai’s watch have stamped their statement that the dreaded Sambisa Forest,
where Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists were held captive for
months, unchallenged, was not only demystified, but also demolished. He
proceeded to belittle the once fortified haven of the insurgents by
establishing a military presence in Sambisa Forest. Explaining his tactics,
Buratai said, having studied the insurgency war in the North East, he decided
to adopt the same guerrilla approach used by the terrorists by introducing
motorbike battalion to move swiftly against terrorists anytime. No innovation,
that simple with such positive impact that cannot attract world acclaim in the
comity of Army Generals anywhere in the world. He simply explained it as, “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.” Also, Buratai’s foot soldiers were constantly assured by the Army Chief
himself, whether in the rain and in cold, about their welfare. He availed
himself at their doorstep to personally respond to the issues confronting them
to give them a psychological impetus to face the insurgency battle and come out
victorious. Soldiers no longer complained of owed allowances, delayed salaries
or pushed to battle front, on empty stomach and without ammunitions. While
addressing troops of the 112 battalion at Mafa, Buratai touched on their patriotism
and emotions as Nigerians reminding of their sacred duty to the country thus;
“We all know we have a task to clear this general area of these criminal
elements once and for all so that we all can go back to our normal soldiering
business. It is the commitment of the President, government, the leadership of
the military, the troops and the support of Nigerians that brought the
successes. We have intensified efforts to enable the military get to the
insurgents before they cause any havoc or even run away from their hideouts…the
most important thing is to prevent them from having the capacity to launch
attacks on innocent individuals and on our troops` locations.” In effect, when
Nigerians now witness isolated incidents of Boko Haram attacks in towns and
villages of the troubled North East, the world is now convinced that the
remnants of terrorists who have been chased out of the forests, alienated in
towns and caged in their hideouts, who are still venting their last spleen,
which would soon extinguish. Confessions from some arrested terrorists now
indicate that they are tired of the “business”, as against the haughty posture
of some of their arrested colleagues in the past. Buratai assures, “Terrorism
is a global phenomenon. It may seem unending, but I want to assure you that
here in Nigeria, we are working hard to ensure that the Boko Haram terrorists
are completely eliminated. We still have some remnants of them, but we are
closing up and clearing them by the day.” Therefore, when Nigerians generally,
including hardcore critics like the Comrade Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and his
Oyo state counterpart,Governor Abiola Ajimobi applaud Buratai, its not
unexpected and about the least laurel still awaiting this General of the
people. Oshiomhole sums it all, “We in Edo State appreciate the leadership that
you are providing for the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Nigerian Army in
particular. We watch you on television and we see a very senior officer going
to meet his officers and men right in the battle field, sharing the dust, the
sun and all the deprivations, the sort of thing you sometime see in foreign
countries. I think that you are leading by example in every sense of the word.”
So, with Buratai on stage, the Nigerian Army is back from a long “sabbatical” leave,
hitting and biting. There is now hope that Nigerian Army would once again
regain its pride and status in the comity of the military world-wide. ABest
Orinya is an academic staff at the Federal University Wukari (FUW), Taraba
State.Buratai: A General’s war of boots, guns and wits
By -
Saturday, March 19, 2016
0
Nigerians hardly agree or indulge
themselves in collective appreciation of the performance of any public officer.
It is like a cherished culture of endless criticism, the people hate to
relinquish. It is worse when the matter at stake concerns a national issue and
the personality at the epicenter of the heat delights more in verbal
justification job than action. Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai Chief of
Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai But there appears to be a unanimous consensus on
how the current Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai has handled
the ongoing war on Boko Haram insurgents in the North eastern part of Nigeria.
The war on terror is a global phenomenon, but since terrorists took a firm,
offensive grip on Nigerians, the country has known no peace, manifest in all
facets of national life. It was like a puzzle that can never be solved. But
Gen. Buratai has given Nigerians hope of survival and dignity in their darkest
hour, much as he has vibrated deadly labyrinths. Until his appointment July 13,
2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari, as Nigeria’s COAS, Gen. Buratai was the
Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force, headquartered in the Republic
of Chad. He succeeded Gen. Kenneth Tobias Jacob Minimah as COAS, whose reign
diminished the once proud army which regaled in excellence on foreign
assignments, anywhere in the world. Under Minimah, Nigerian soldiers were
re-classified and derogatively described as worse than ragtag militias, evident
in troop’s sheepish retreat in the middle of battle. Boko Haram militants held
the country on its jugular, recklessly killing, abducting, conquering and
annexing territories of Nigeria with their insignia boldly mounted. Credentials
of the Borno-born Army General are replete with trappings of excellence
anywhere he has served the country before now. As Commander 2 Brigade covering
other parts of the Niger Delta region, where he doubled as the Sector Commander
Joint Task Force Operation Pulo Shield, Buratai brought respite to Nigerians in
the restive Niger Delta region by significantly curtailing oil theft, piracy,
kidnapping and armed robbery through relentless security surveillance and
operations. But what appears to have shot him to limelight is his new job as
COAS. Many attest that upon his appointment as the Army’s helmsman, Buratai
deemed it a personal mission to rescue his people. But when he vowed to
confront the insurgent’s headlong; the terrorists mistook his outbursts as the
same empty bragging of his predecessors. Administering their usual baptism of
fire on whoever dares them, the insurgents immediately unleashed an attack on
his home town in Biu LGA of Borno, killing and destroying houses. While the
action of the Islamic sect members was meant to permanently silence Gen.
Buratai, it surprisingly rather emboldened him. And with President Muhammadu
Buhari’s relocation of the military command structure to the epicenter of the
Boko Haram war, Buratai perceived it a rare opportunity to again excel in his
military career. Son of Alhaji Yusuf Buratai, a World War II veteran, the COAS
reminisced his father’s admonishments to him at a tender age, when opted for
the military. He remembered that his father, now aged told him to strive to
excel and always be loyal to his superiors and constituted authority and to
distance himself from any form of vice. So, he considered failing Nigeria in
the insurgency war as failing his own biological father. Therefore, having
climbed the ladder in his military career to get to the peak, Gen. Buratai
dammed the coziness of his office in Abuja, laced his boots, cocked his guns
and personally led troops to the battle field. It was a marked departure from
the disposition of COAS before his arrival on the scene. To demonstrate that he
is an Army General with proper grasp and briefs of his new assignment, Buratai
restructured the Nigerian Army hierarchy by deploying his subordinates to
superintend on new commands stations or areas. He set out to task with a
singular mission; firstly, to boost the very low morale of troops, which
hitherto made them dread war and by extension, to also extract a commitment
from soldiers that insurgency is a war that must be won in record time, to
enable soldiers get back to their regular duties. Thereafter, Buratai
frequently toured the zone embattled by insurgency war, even to dreaded Boko
Haram controlled zones. It was on one of such mission that his convoy was
ambushed while travelling to Maiduguri-Gamboru-Ngala. No senior officer of his
ranking or portfolio had rendered himself to be caught in the crossfire of
insurgents in the past. But Buratai braved the odds and did not only deflate
the potency of the terrorists who attacked his convoy, but also arrested some
of them who later made useful confessions. It is clear that the Nigerian Army under
Buratai’s watch have stamped their statement that the dreaded Sambisa Forest,
where Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists were held captive for
months, unchallenged, was not only demystified, but also demolished. He
proceeded to belittle the once fortified haven of the insurgents by
establishing a military presence in Sambisa Forest. Explaining his tactics,
Buratai said, having studied the insurgency war in the North East, he decided
to adopt the same guerrilla approach used by the terrorists by introducing
motorbike battalion to move swiftly against terrorists anytime. No innovation,
that simple with such positive impact that cannot attract world acclaim in the
comity of Army Generals anywhere in the world. He simply explained it as, “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.” Also, Buratai’s foot soldiers were constantly assured by the Army Chief
himself, whether in the rain and in cold, about their welfare. He availed
himself at their doorstep to personally respond to the issues confronting them
to give them a psychological impetus to face the insurgency battle and come out
victorious. Soldiers no longer complained of owed allowances, delayed salaries
or pushed to battle front, on empty stomach and without ammunitions. While
addressing troops of the 112 battalion at Mafa, Buratai touched on their patriotism
and emotions as Nigerians reminding of their sacred duty to the country thus;
“We all know we have a task to clear this general area of these criminal
elements once and for all so that we all can go back to our normal soldiering
business. It is the commitment of the President, government, the leadership of
the military, the troops and the support of Nigerians that brought the
successes. We have intensified efforts to enable the military get to the
insurgents before they cause any havoc or even run away from their hideouts…the
most important thing is to prevent them from having the capacity to launch
attacks on innocent individuals and on our troops` locations.” In effect, when
Nigerians now witness isolated incidents of Boko Haram attacks in towns and
villages of the troubled North East, the world is now convinced that the
remnants of terrorists who have been chased out of the forests, alienated in
towns and caged in their hideouts, who are still venting their last spleen,
which would soon extinguish. Confessions from some arrested terrorists now
indicate that they are tired of the “business”, as against the haughty posture
of some of their arrested colleagues in the past. Buratai assures, “Terrorism
is a global phenomenon. It may seem unending, but I want to assure you that
here in Nigeria, we are working hard to ensure that the Boko Haram terrorists
are completely eliminated. We still have some remnants of them, but we are
closing up and clearing them by the day.” Therefore, when Nigerians generally,
including hardcore critics like the Comrade Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and his
Oyo state counterpart,Governor Abiola Ajimobi applaud Buratai, its not
unexpected and about the least laurel still awaiting this General of the
people. Oshiomhole sums it all, “We in Edo State appreciate the leadership that
you are providing for the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Nigerian Army in
particular. We watch you on television and we see a very senior officer going
to meet his officers and men right in the battle field, sharing the dust, the
sun and all the deprivations, the sort of thing you sometime see in foreign
countries. I think that you are leading by example in every sense of the word.”
So, with Buratai on stage, the Nigerian Army is back from a long “sabbatical” leave,
hitting and biting. There is now hope that Nigerian Army would once again
regain its pride and status in the comity of the military world-wide. ABest
Orinya is an academic staff at the Federal University Wukari (FUW), Taraba
State.