Highlights:
- 30th July 2015, Major General Iliya Abbah appointed as new chief of The Multinational Joint Task Force in charge of the violent terror group Boko Haram.
- Announcement comes after Nigeria and Cameroon agree to cooperate in the fight against Boko Haram
- The Multinational Joint Task Force will be headquartered in N’Djamena in Chad and will replace the regional offensive already operational
Analysis:
Major General Iliya Abbah was named as the new head of The Multinational Task Force by President Muhammadu Buhari. His appointment coincided with Buhari’s visit to Cameroon in a bid to ease the mistrust between Nigeria and Cameroon and foster a work-together relationship in the war against Boko Haram.
Major General Iliya Abbah’s appointment announcement happened as the Nigerian Army announced a new task force that would replace the regional offensive currently operating to fight Boko Haram.
Major Gen. Abbah prior to his appointment he headed military operations in Niger Delta. He replaces Brig-Gen T.Y Buratai who was appointed as Chief of Army Staff.
The Multinational Joint Task Force:
The AU-Mandated task force will be headquartered in Chad and will replace the regional offensive already in place. Its operation commencement had been delayed due to some funding issues but is expected to start soon.
The Multinational Joint Task Force will comprise of 8700 troops from five countries; Nigeria, Niger Chad, Cameroon and Benin.
The force is expected to start operations in 30 days according to Buhari who will be visiting Benin the last of the five-nation members of the task force.
Summary:
The Multinational Joint Task Force is expected to exercise better precision and coordination better than the one already in place. President Buhari’s visits to the region echoes the significance of the regions unity against the violent militants; Boko Haram.
Major Gen. Abbah’s appointment is very well suited as he has vast experience in peace keeping and dealing with violent insurgencies in Darfur Sudan.
The task force is one of the collective efforts that the region is putting up in the war that has been waged against the Islamic State affiliated Boko Haram.
