Highlights:
- Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has given the new appointed military chiefs a three-month ultimatum to defeat Boko Haram.
- He gave the order at the swearing in ceremony of the chiefs that were appointed last month.
- The order is in line with President Buhari’s vow to completely rid Nigeria off Boko Haram when he took office
- The efforts has been boosted by an AU-Approved 8700 troop multi-national forces that will tackle the militants
Summary:
Nigeria’s President Buhari has given the newly appointed Chiefs of military an ultimatum of three months to completely deal with the Boko Haram militants. He gave the order during the swearing-in ceremony where he assured them of availability of all resources they require to meet the deadline.
The order by Buhari was in line with his promise to rid Nigeria of Boko Haram when he took office where he vowed to tackle the six-year Islamic Insurgency head-on.
President Buhari has intensified his efforts as an AU-approved 8700 troops multinational force drawing officers from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin is set to start operations very soon.
The newly appointed military chiefs are expected not only to organize their branches of the force but to practice bilateral cooperation with militaries from the neighboring countries.
He promised to avail all the needed and necessarily resources to beat the deadline in place but cautioned that all operation be within the rule of law and conscious of the human rights. Emphasis was laid on the need to protect the innocent civilians and respect the rights of the combatants.
Nigerian military has in the past accused of crimes against humanity and violations of human rights resulting to countries in the west like the United States refusing to sell weapons to them. However since President Buhari’s accent into power he has ordered the establishment of a military processing plant that will see the military make its own weapons in Nigeria.
Two of the military chiefs; Maj. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, and the National Security Adviser, Maj Gen Babagana Monguno appointed come from Borno State which is in the North Eastern part of Nigeria that is Boko Haram’s stronghold.
Additionally, the move of the military command center from Abuja to Maiduguri until the insurgency conflict is resolved has been viewed as a move that will centralize operations and speed-up decision making due to the proximity of the crisis.
