WINNING THE WAR ON TERROR: BAGA AND THE END GAME STRATEGY

The Nigerian people, government, Muslims and press must stand by the nation’s military and intelligence as they seek to put an end to the carnage and de-civilisation being engineered, driven and executed by terrorists in the name of Islam. These satanic elements commonly known as “Boko Haram” have overseen the death of thousands of persons and destruction of properties worth billions of naira. They leave blood on their trail everywhere they dare to thread. Even the legendary Lucifer will dread with envy at the quantum of terror that “Boko Haram” dispatches and the temerity with which it does so. It is now a case of “the fear of Boko Haram is the beginning of wisdom”.

However, I send my condolences to the family and friends of the innocent ones who lost their precious lives to the armed confrontations in Baga and elsewhere in the attempt to wipe out every trace of terrorism from our environment. There is war in Nigeria, at least in Northern Nigeria and the earlier we recognise that, the better for us.

Nevertheless, these vampires can be surmounted. Bringing an end to this hegemony of evil and suicidal violence requires a holistic and strategic approach based on the principles of Military Science as it applies to asymmetrical warfare. The War on Terror falls under a category known as Asymmetrical Warfare and its rules of engagement is strategically different from a Symmetrical/Conventional one. It gradually becomes impossible to distinguish between the enemy combatants and the innocent civilians around them, especially when they are used as human shields. It is in the light of the above that George W. Bush at the wake of the 9/11 Terrorist Attack on the United States, made the following declaration: “Make no mistakes; we shall make no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbour them”. What is required at this stage is an end game strategy.

I feel pained that what could have been celebrated as a milestone and landmark military achievement against the terrorists is being stigmatized to the extent that the government of Nigeria is been blackmailed to disown it. I salute the courage of the commander and men of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) for the extra-ordinary feat they achieved in Baga by smoking out the terrorists from their camp and taking over their arsenal.

“Baga” is the new term coined by me to categorise all the Boko Haram camps and arsenals, including communities who harbour them. There are a lot of Bagas in Borno State and the North-East. The immediate task before the Nigerian military intelligence is to identify them and advise innocent civilians who live in communities that harbour these terrorists to vacate. This should be subsequently followed by a full scale military action. Let the terrorists’ habitations be made desolate and their homes let the military take over!

Consequently, the Boko Haram Terrorists must be rendered impotent and defeated in battle before they can helplessly agree to accept a president’s offer of amnesty. History is replete with similar records. I call on all and sundry to advise innocent persons to stay away from terrorists and their camps and report them to the military and police failing which they shall hold no one accountable for any dire consequences of harbouring, sympathizing and hobnobbing with them.

Furthermore, there is a need to bring this conflict to a logical end on time. The northern Christians who are the main targets of the terrorists are becoming impatient in their call for justice; both for the victims and families they left behind. Also, some northern Muslim politicians are in a hurry to make political and economic gains out of it by calling for an unconditional offer of amnesty. I guess they know that there are necessary conditions that must be observed for an amnesty offer to become valid. They include: disarmament, demobilization, documentation, rehabilitation and reintegration.

Finally, those who genuinely want an end to this barbarism should support the military in the effort to bring the terrorists to their knees. You cannot be crying that government is not doing enough on security and cry foul when they go tough on the criminals. Those who do so are terrorist sympathizers and should bury their heads in shame and repent. The press should be more strategic in the way they do their reporting as they have larger implications for whether we preserve modernity by winning the war on terror or succumb to medievalism as represented by “Boko Haram”. The choice is ours.

Thank you.
Written By Mark Olise