Over the last six years the Nigerian nation had been bedeviled with the extremist cum insurgent group known as boko haram. The boko haram has more often than not resorted to the use of terror and has justified its identity as a a terrorist organisation.
The terrorist group before now has been involved in land grabbing exercise, similar to the Daish in the middle east. It has sought to enforce the most radical form of sharia and a proselytizing of the Nigerian north east under fanatical ideals based on distorted views of an Islamic society.
Until recent weeks, the Nigerian military and in extension the political elite has been under Intense criticism for the lacklustre attitude and performance of the once preponderant armed forces in the wake of shabby display in the face of an ill-equipped and poorly organized and rag tag group called the Boko Haram. In the face of amaranthine victories in important towns like Baga, Mubi to mention just two.
One need praise the Nigerian military for it exploits the last two weeks and the magic it seems to be performing even as though it seems the new script been rolled out has been carefully written and played out.
The subject of the discourse isn’t the hypocrisy of the military, neither is it the political gimmicks of the civilians with commanding authority but the inevitability of the success for the Nigerian army and the sanctity of the Nigerian nation state.
The boko haram as a group is losing its land hold in the north east and seems to have resorted to a panic mode. The panic mode of this rag tag insurgents is one which excel in the use of Scotch-earth tactics including the use of suicide bombers, hostage taking,kidnapping and activating sleeper cells around the country with an element of surprise.
Again, it should be noted that if the military sustains it current stride and victories coupled with erstwhile intelligence gathered in the early days of the groups it would be easier to detract this evil perpetrators from their enterprise. This tactics would only help expose the sleeper cells, decimation and help activate a movement for the total annihilation of the malign sect.
We have witnessed pockets of suicide bombers in the Jos environ and also in remote cities around the country where insurgents activities have been scare in recent times. For instance in Biu and Kano, the cries of attack especially suicide bombers have been rare in the last six months when the terrorist group held enclaves within the Nigerian state.
An attempt to explain the resurgence in the amount of the scotch earth approach of this militia is seen as a last ditch effort by the group to once again instill fear in the Nigerian citizenry. Resorting to this tactics where it loses members, kill innocent people and damage lives and property is only to create a false sense of its prevalence in the Nigerian state.
Its is pertinent to note that this tactics by the insurgent isn’t novel and the Nigerian state must have learnt from past occurrence how best to deal with such situations.