General Martin Agwai (rtd) has called for a holistic approach in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.
The former Chief of Defence Staff made this call while presenting a keynote address at the International Conference on insurgency, titled: “Insurgency and counter insurgency in Nigeria: Critical perspectives on Boko Haram”, in Abuja on Tuesday.
He condemned the digging of trenches around communities to prevent Boko Haram attacks, calling for more modern approaches to the fight against insurgency.
Gen Agwai, who had also served as Chief of Army Staff in the country, said intelligence gathering is key in winning wars.
He said military personnel being deployed to fight the insurgents must be given specialised training on the specific job they are deployed to do.
While lamenting that general military training was not enough to give the soldiers an edge over the insurgents, Gen Agwai added that “nobody should stay fighting in the Northeast more than two years.”
He contended that leaving a soldier on the battle front for more than two years will adversely affect the fight against insurgency, stressing that it has both physical and psychological effect on the soldiers.
According to him, soldiers withdrawn from war fronts should not return earlier than 18 months.
Gen Agwai also called for more collaborations between the military and the media, insisting that the military must make a concerted effort to build the relationship as “media is a force multiplier.”
He urged the government to block access to arms in the country.
Gen Agwai also advised Nigerians to give birth to children they can comfortably cater for while also calling on the government to engage the numerous jobless youths in the country.
Speaking earlier, Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum condemned the digging of trenches by the military to protect villages, lamenting that the strategy had limited the freedom of the people.
“The Nigerian Military should give opportunity to people to go back to their farmlands.
“The digging of trenches in towns is not working. The military should create opportunity for people to go back home,” he insisted.
Prof. Zulum also urged the military not to withdraw from territories they had retrieved from the insurgents, arguing that those communities have now become easy targets for the insurgents.
Civil-military relations important
Meanwhile, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo called for civil-military relations, adding that the military needed to build trust in the communities in order to succeed.
Osinbajo, who was the special guest speaker at the event, said the military needs the communities on its side to win the war against Boko Haram.
Represented by General Mohammed Babagana Monguno (rtd), the National Security Adviser, Osinbajo urged the military to take the lead in the fight against terrorism in the African continent.
About the conference
In his remark, the Executive Director of Victims Support Fund (VSF), Prof. Sunday Ochoche said the three-day program was designed to evaluate the nature, evolution and root causes of Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria as well as the external ramifications for Nigeria, Africa and the world.
He said experts will also critically examine the national architecture for counter-insurgency with a view to understanding its structure, operations, and functionality as well as profer solutions for defence and strategic security policy.
The conference is organised by VSF in conjunction with the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.
