The new government has a tight rope to walk as far as the military and the defence of the country is concern, Mojola Peter gives the government, military and the populace worthwhile ideas.
As the new government takes over from the Goodluck Jonathan administration, the security challenge in the North-East Zone of the country ought to remain in the front burner of public discourse.
For the new government coming to power, the stake is high as the advent of the government is at a time the economy is better described as comatose. While Nigerians would expect the new government to take on headlong all the challenges facing the country, the emergent administration may discover that there is ever so much it could handle at once.
Presently the Nigeria armed forces is still contending with tackling the Boko Haram insurgents and it would be the wish of all Nigerians that peace reign in the South East.
In spite the challenge of sweeping out this terrorist group, the ingenuity of Nigerian armed forces still cut across the continent of Africa. Indeed great milestones had been achieved by Nigeria’s armed forces.
The success of the first peace keeping operation that the Nigerian army embarked on in the 60s in the Congo was a remarkable success that continued to be a subject of reference in peacekeeping operations ever since. There is no doubting the notion that the comportment and professionalism of Nigerian contingents to various military interventions at the international level have gotten members of the armed forces recognition.
The then foreign policy of the country that states that Africa would be the centre piece of Nigeria’s foreign policy was the icing on the cake in assessing the capability of Nigeria’s armed forces and the ability to intervene in crisis within the continent without support from the super powers.
Eventually, this was the first blood Nigeria inadvertently drew from some international contenders who are bent on keeping the continent between the claws of neo-colonialism.
These countries saw Nigeria as a threat to their plan and has contributed to the security challenges of the country, this some analysts argued.
Nigeria, though ECOMOG, was able to police West African states and instil peace in those territories. The exploits of the Nigerian army in Serria Leone, Liberia and other parts of Africa are reference points.
Yet the army that was able to restore peace in Africa may be finding it difficult to reciprocate such in the north eastern part of Nigeria where insurgency seems to have prevailed.
The military, over time, had been ensuring that normal socio-political and economic activities are restored to the North-East. It has engaged the terror group by sweeping them from their hideouts to make certain their inability of exercise freedom of action in that part of the country by successfully restraining them to their traditional enclaves which are at the present being flushed out.
This has been a continual activity which would guarantee that they are permanently decimated. In fact the military has always reiterated that they are committed to ensuring that terrorism in the country is combated to the point that its influence can no longer stop normal activities in the society.
Nigerian civilians have continued to wonder whether the Nigerian military remains a force with great reputation, capacity and capability that it was once known for considering the huge challenge the terrorist group has posed.
It is of critical note that the strained relationship between the civilian population and their military counterpart has not in any way helped the nation’s security system.
This could be traced to the long and protracted military administration in the country.
Although the military has established cordial relationship by establishing a directorate within its system to see to the civilian-military relationship, Nigerians are still wary about the armed forces.
The elites, media and the international community have also done little to help matters. They have influenced the position of Nigerians who easily swallow the bait and are helping to propagate it.
At every point in the success of the operation of the Nigerian army in the north-east they have mischievously attributed it to others or circumstances at the expense of the Army.
It would be recalled that when the local hunters and the vigilance groups joined the army in the effort to fish out the terrorists and relative success was recorded it was attributed by these critics to the volunteers.
Again, when the heat was on seriously on the terrorists, there was the propaganda that it was the Cameroonians that were behind the success. In fact, in the last few months the success of the military in tackling the terrorists was also attributed to mercenaries.
There is also the allegation of corruption levelled against the army. Be it as it may, without any iota of prejudice, the military remains one of the most prudent organization in Nigeria and has maintained its disciplinary standard while demonstrating professionalism.
The Nigerian military that did exploits in the glorious era of the ECOMOG and peace keeping interventions within Africa may to these critics have faded into history. Yet amongst the serious minded individuals, the questions keep reverberating- what has happened to the Nigeria military?
Why has the Boko Haram insurgents become indomitable? Could it be that the generation of military personnel that we have in the country in this present age is a direct opposite of what the army used to be?
The reality of the current development is that the young officers that did the exploits of those glorious years are the Generals in the present day military leadership tackling the Boko Haram insurgency. For this reason, the civilian population must have a change of perception towards the military.
It is often said that the military of a country is an offshoot of the people.
One would find it difficult to separate the citizens from the military since the military is made up of the citizenry.
Therefore there is the need for the incoming government to make every effort to ensure that military/civilian relationship is sustained and improved upon. This would go a long way to diffuse the negative and hostile impression of civilians about the military.
The civil populace must understand that the tradition of the military is a clear cut from that of the civilian populace. When the military demanded professionalism from its officers and men, the populace must understand and allow the military to carry out its duty without interference or diversion from the populace.
In the same vein, the military should ensure that its men and officers do not regard civilians as inferior. Gone should be the days when soldiers intimidate civilians on the streets.
The cooperation of the civilians and the military in intelligence gathering cannot be relegated. Locals in every military operation are pivotal to the success of such operations. It is of critical note that the Boko haram insurgency would have been history if the civilian population has at the initial point cooperated with the military.
Secondly, in the fight against Boko haram, the Nigerian military faced equipment deficiency; Nigerians would not soon forget the controversy of the arms deal in South Africa that went down south.
It is high time the government encourages the establishment of legit arms and military equipment production in the country. The founding of military industrial complexes across the country should be one of the programmes of the new government.
Thirdly, the Buhari administration must have it at the back of its mind that the military as it is presently is everything but well funded. Every serious government of the world would not imagine its armed forces short of financial resources.
It is high time the government separated the military budget from the Ministry of Defence. Finance for the military should be from extra-budgetary expenses. This would give the military and the government the wider opportunity to explore new grounds.
Fourthly and of serious importance, politics and the military should be separated. While politicians are at the helms of affairs in the defence ministry, it is important that politicians should learn to draw the line when it comes to the defence of the country.
The government should focus on a pro-active defence policy that would not enmeshed in politics.
This would ensure that army personnel are highly motivated, disciplined and have the hardware to work with.
