In an interview conducted, an
Ex-commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Brig.-Gen. Williams
Obene (rtd.), advised Nigerians on Wednesday to prepare for war otherwise the
Boko Haram insurgency would likely last another 10 years, despite foreign
intervention.
During the interview, Obene, who pioneered the Nigerian Army Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency Centre, said the recent bomb attacks in Kano and Jos were to be expected considering the incessant existence of asymmetrical warfare like insurgency.
He said it’s unrealistic to expect
security forces to bring Boko Haram insurgency to an end within the next six
months earmarked for the extended state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe
states.
He said, “The attacks on Kano and Jos
did not come to me as surprises. In asymmetrical warfare, such as we are faced
with, these things are to be expected. Nigerians need to come to terms with the
fact that we are at war and it is not a conventional war, where the enemy can
be identified.
“Let’s not delude ourselves to think
that we are going to use the military to stop the insurgency in six months.
“The senators have said they would
monitor the state of emergency in the North-East on a monthly basis, and would
call it off if they don’t see improvement. My question is: what is the
alternative to the state of emergency? In fact, we should declare total war.
Nigerians should prepare for war.”
Obene predicted that Boko Haram would
eventually infiltrate every part of the country and would be able to carry out
attacks in any state. Therefore, Nigerians, irrespective of what part of the
country they resided, should be vigilant and ready for war.
“Politicians should stop deceiving Nigerians
that this insurgency can stop in six months. This thing has come to stay with
us for a long time. It took some other countries several years to deal with
insurgency. Ours might last up to 10 years, or even more because of the
involvement of politicians,” he said.
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