Chief of Defense staff Musa explains why Nigerian military hasnât wiped out Boko Haram

Nigeriaâs Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has explained why the fight against Boko Haram terrorist groups has lasted for so long.
After starting out against soft targets, Boko Haram carried out suicide bombings of police buildings and the United Nations office in Abuja in 2011.
The Federal government established a state of emergency at the beginning of 2012, which extended 2013 to cover the entire northeast of Nigeria.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the insurgency in May 2013 while 2.3 million people have been displaced by the conflict.
Appearing on Channels Televisionâs Politics Today programme on Friday, January 24, the Chief of Defence Staff highlighted issues that might have led to the militaryâs prolonged battle with the insurgents.
âThis Boko Haram thing is a lot. Then I tell you this, for them to have survived for 16 years and are still fighting, how are they getting their funding? Whoâs sustaining them? Because they cannot just be doing it actively just like that.âWhat I tell people is- no country should allow this kind of thing to commence. It is a difficult operation to eradicate, extremely difficult.
âBecause before now, when we had the conventional kind of warfare, you are fighting a country. You know youâre fighting for territory. You want to achieve something.
âNow you are fighting with people that have nothing to lose. It is an ideology they have in their minds. They believe they are right and you are wrong. He believes if he kills you, heâs getting a blessing. If you kill him, heâs going to heaven. Thatâs absolutely nothing to lose.
âThat makes it very, very difficult, and itâs not written on their foreheads. So, how do you identify who is who?
âAnd theyâve realized that we obey international laws, they donât. So what do they do? They use human shields. Anytime they have anything, they go with people, so that you cannot attack them, you cannot shoot, and thatâs what makes it so.
âWhen people say, why is it taking so long? It is a very, very difficult operation to do, because you make the mistake, you kill some people, and your country comes after you. If you donât kill them [the terrorists], and they continue striving. So, in both ways, you are at the receiving end.
âBecause you are wearing a uniform, you can be identified. You are, by law, constitutionally held down on certain things that you must obey. So those are the issues we are facing.âYou know, like I told you, if it was conventional warfare with the equipment, armaments we have now, weâll go to a community and flatten the entire community where they live. Weâll end this in the very short term, but you canât do that anymore.â
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