Newly promoted service chiefs give themselves three months to finish off Boko Haram

MILITARY chiefs have set themselves a three month deadline to eliminate the Boko Haram scourge plaguing northern Nigeria promising that the final offensive against the terrorists to end the insurgency has begun.

 Yesterday, the national security adviser retired Major General Babagana Monguno, led the newly promoted service chiefs on a security reassessment visit to Borno State. On the entourage was the chief of defence staff  General Abayomi Olonisakin, the chief of army staff  Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, the chief of air staff Air Marshal Baba Sadiq Abubakar and the inspector general of police Solomon Arase.

 Their visit was the prelude to what they described as the final offensive that will bring the Boko Haram insurgency to an end. Upon arriving in Maiduguri, the service chiefs drove straight to the Government House where they met with Governor Kashim Shettima in a closed door meeting for about two hours.

 General Munguno, who is an indigene of Borno state, said his visit was a home-coming after a long period of absence. He stated clearly that his mission was to come to the troubled state’s capital, meet with the government, the troops on ground, review the counter- insurgency strategy and then carry out the presidential order of finishing the Boko Haram insurgency in three months.

 According to General Monguno, he and the service chiefs have no excuse whatsoever to fail in the assigned mission to clear Borno and other parts of the northeast of Boko Haram. He declared that he has the finest set of military chiefs the nation can ever produce, whom he said are capable of fixing the nations’ security problems.

 “Ordinarily, we would have hit the ground running since our appointments but I felt that we should wait for the Senate to confirm the new service chiefs and for the president to decorate them in their new ranks. As soon as that was done, we found ourselves here, the hottest point, which is why in less than 24 hours after the decoration, we have come here today.

 “The purpose of this visit is for all of us to come and reassess the operational situation on ground with the view to effecting the required changes at the strategic operational and tactical levels. Mr President has told us that he wants this insurgency to end within the shortest possible time and he has given a time-frame which we are all aware of.," General Munguno added.

 Responding, Governor Shettima, said local people had been cooperating with the military and other security agencies to end the Boko Haram insurgency that has caused a lot of havoc over the past five or six years. He added that Boko Haram has killed over 300,000 people and destroyed towns and villages in the 20 local government areas of Borno State.

 Earlier this week, President Muhammadu Buhari promoted all the service chiefs, with General Olonisakin and Lt General Buratai elevated from the rank of major general. Air Marshal Abubakar was promoted from the rank of air vice marshal, while chief of naval staff Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas has been promoted to the rank of vice admiral from rear admiral.