Some retired senior military officers have backed the call by a former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd), for the declaration of a state of emergency to effectively address the Boko Haram insurgency.
In his new book, ‘Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,’ Irabor argued that the absence of political will had hindered Nigeria’s response to the insurgency, stressing that an emergency proclamation backed by the National Assembly would mobilise all elements of national power towards ending the war.
Irabor, who served as the CDS under the Buhari administration, wrote, “The government had not yet mustered the political will and instruments to declare a war against Boko Haram. With an emergency proclamation, backed by the National Assembly, there will be greater and more focused attention by the government to galvanise all the elements of national power towards the war.
“It should be noted that strategy deals with the aggregate of the elements of national power. These include economic, political, social, diplomatic, information, and military.
‘’The political authority stands at the apex. The success at the tactical and operational levels will never translate to victory if there is failure at the strategic level. Tactical operations alone rarely bring about the desired outcome in political situations.”
Despite being degraded by the military following the killing of many of its top commanders and the arrest of hundreds of its foot soldiers, Boko Haram’s attacks in the North have intensified recently, causing widespread destruction and displacement.
The attack led to the destruction of a military barracks, dozens of homes, and the palace of the district head. Over 5,000 people reportedly fled to Cameroon due to the recent attacks.
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