Opinion

The Nigerian Military And The Merit Of The Mad Dog Manners

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Chief of Army Staff, General Farouk Yahaya

<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"9OrjEcp8" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"2iXBRWgk" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>By Bala Ibrahim&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The latest news in town is that&comma; pursuant to the attack on the Presidential Guard in Abuja last week&comma; where two officers were killed&comma; the Nigerian Army troops of the same Presidential Guards Brigade&comma; have sprang to action&comma; in the course of which&comma; they identified and destroyed&comma; camps belonging to the bandits&comma; in addition to the recovery of a huge hidden store of weapons&period; This is a laudable action that is not only worthy of individual praises&comma; but calls for collective commendation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to credible sources&comma; the soldiers took the fight to the terrorists&comma; where they raided forests around the Federal Capital Territory&comma; FCT&comma; Niger&comma; Kogi and Kaduna states&comma; in search of the terrorists&comma; bandits and kidnappers taking refuge there&period; The terrorists&comma; who are said to be mostly foreigners&comma; were badly hit&comma; killing many of them&comma; while some escaped on power bikes with gun shots&period; A good number of the terrorists have been arrested&comma; and are giving useful statements to intelligence officers&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"eDhMRPxP" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Information obtained from those arrested said&comma; the suspects have revealed that their membership spans across many artisans&comma; including okada riders&comma; water vendors&comma; wheelbarrow pushers&comma; petty traders&comma; mobile tailors&comma; shoe cobblers and others&comma; who are constantly on the move&comma; and ever ready with information before the evildoers strike&period; The same people also serve as informants on the movements of troops and suspicious presence of security personnel&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This exemplary action of the military has given way to a big question&comma; viz- so the Nigerian military has the capacity for such spectacular operation&comma; yet they remained disdainful to the situation&comma; until some of them were attacked and killed&quest; Why is the mad dog instinct employed only when theirs is the victim&quest; Why&quest;&comma; why&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Those with good memories may still remember&comma; how in the eighties&comma; as a result of a traffic altercation involving Kola Abiola&comma; the eldest son of late MKO Abiola&comma; and a military officer&comma; some soldiers reportedly invaded the Abiola family house and assaulted them&period; When the matter was reported to the military top brass&comma; a senior military chief said&comma; there was no need for any apology&comma; because&comma; by training&comma; when soldiers are attacked&comma; they respond with the instinct of a mad dog&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The Ijaw people of Odi in Bayelsa State&comma; whose village was temporarily occupied and ravaged in 1999&comma; may still be licking the wounds inflicted on them&comma; when the federal government ordered troops to flush out the killers of some security operatives that were posted there to keep peace&period; The consequences of the excessive use of force by the military in the area is obnoxiously reprehensible&period; That is the mannerism of the military&comma; when an attack is visited on them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Late Gen&period; Victor Malu&comma; the officer that earned the nickname of the man with guts&comma; and one that was said to be gifted with the character of being blunt&comma; frank and fearless&comma; was then the Chief of Army Staff&period; He ordered the Odi operation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Shortly after the operation&comma; which attracted a global opprobrium by Human Rights organizations&comma; I ran into him at the then Ikoyi Hotel&comma; Lagos&comma; and in the course of our interview&comma; where he justified the action of the military&comma; I asked him&comma; what would he do&comma; if his father were to pull a trigger on his head&quest; I would blow up his head&comma; he answered instantaneously&period; That is the mannerism of the military&comma; when an attack is visited on them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In something reminiscent to a reminder on the law of Karma&comma; which says&comma; what happens to a person&comma; happens because they caused it with their actions&comma; after Gen&period; Malu left service&comma; the Zaki-Biam Massacre happened&comma; where hundreds of unarmed Tiv civilians were killed by the military&comma; in revenge to the killing of 19 soldiers&comma; whose mutilated bodies were found near some Tiv villages in 2001&period; Amongst the villages attacked by the military was Victor Malu’s village&comma; and one of those killed was Malu’s uncle&period; That is the mannerism of the military&comma; when an attack is visited on them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>With such antecedent&comma; and a history of robust capacity for rapid response&comma; why should it take eternity&comma; for the Nigerian military to rescue kidnapped victims&comma; or identify and demolish the dens of terrorists&quest; More so&comma; when investigative journalists are visiting and talking to the terrorists on regular basis&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Whether or not the military like it&comma; they have long been convicted in the public court&comma; for the dereliction of duty in this regard&comma; and the bulk of the blame goes to the National Security Adviser&comma; Gen&period; Monguno rtd&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>No wonder the call for the sacking of Monguno is gaining momentum&comma; with the latest coming from Senator Sani Musa of the ruling APC&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;What proactive action has the NSA taken&quest; We have to call a spade a spade&period; If I was the NSA in this country&comma; I will tender my resignation because I have failed&period; When they &lpar;terrorists&rpar; are creating cells&comma; you do not wait until when you are attacked before acting&period; The intelligence that is being shared is a pre-information given to you at a stage where these culprits have not concluded their plans and you neutralise them&period; For me&comma; I believe that we need to re-strategize”-Sen&period; Sani Musa&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Yes&comma; Nigerians need to see some spectacular actions&comma; in order to justify the merit of that mad dog manners of the military&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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