FG lacks purposeful intent to stop Boko Haram menace…..Rtd US Army Major

Major Yinka Ogunsanya  (Rtd) of the US Army has accused the Federal Government of lacking the will to stop Boko Haram and other form of insurgency terrorizing some parts of the country. In an interview with some selected journalists among whom is Yinka Ezun of Standard Times Nigeria, Ogunsanya insisted that Nigerian Army personnel are among the bravest in the world but lack support to defeat the terrorists.

Excerpts

Having served in the US Army before, how will you compare Nigeria security situation to that of USA?

First , we are talking about to two different landscapes, battle space, thinking, culture and language. The advantage US have is that they practice mono-ethnic group within the country. That is, people do not claim to be from the north, south, east, etc. They are just Americans but in Nigeria we have not really figured how to curb the issue of ethnicity. Any country that has multi-ethnic groups among themselves will always find good and bad actors among them including Nigeria.

We have been battling insecurity for the past twelve years. Right from (Goodluck( Jonathan’s regime down to the present president,  what seems to be the problems?.

My personal research is that Nigeria lacks the true purposeful intent to stop the menace because we have good landscape for combat and development. Furthermore, I will say that certain groups are behind the existence of Boko-Haram. Our economic development too has a part to play because those so called Boko-haram fighters  are doing so as a job in which they are paid for it. It is said that the amount of people killed, the more money they will be paid.

There are rumours that the Nigerian Government have an hand in formulation of Boko-Haram and bandit s or Is It Political?

Up to this moment,  I do not have access to the Nigerian Intelligence operations. If we put somebody in charge of something and there is no proper intent to operate, it will be difficult for the person to flow. For instance, let’s take a look at a scenario when President (Olusegun) Obasanjo was in power, there was a security threat somewhere in the Southeast [Udi] he went there with overwhelming force and that was the end of it. That’s a good intent here but when there is a shake or would say negotiations, there will definitely be a mess and the situation cannot be controlled anymore. if there is going to negotiations,  it must be from point of power . ‘The situation on ground is that Boko-haram are dictating for Nigeria. Anytime I read or hear the news ,I ask myself why is Boko-haram killing  Nigeria soldiers? whereas it suppose to be the other way round. First is there somebody leaking the Nigeria operations intent out to the terrorists because I can categorically tell people around the world that Nigerian soldiers are one of the bravest in the world. Unfortunately they don’t have the right ‘Training And Equipment’.  While I served in the US army, if I give an order to proceed toward s an enemy with the wrong equipment and intent, they have the right to refuse and proper measure will be taken.

Is it said that when there is war there is inflow of FUND can we say the Nigerian army is behind all these insurgency maybe because of the money?.

A professional soldier will never do such, there might be bad element amidst the system. But majorly what is lacking is high rated             

1.       Guns And Machines.

2.       Combat Motor Bikes.

3.       Surprise Attacks.

I introduced the combat motor bikes to the system at first they loved it and wanted to buy the idea but some personnel turned it down].    

4.       Funds.

A]  Know who is sponsoring them?.

B]  Who is fueling their trucks?.

C]  How do they purchase their trucks?.

D]  Who is moving the guns, trucks, etc into Sambisa forest?.

E]  Which routes do they take into Sambisa forest?.

All these questions stop at the President’s desk but the president is as good as those who surround him.

The Presidency issued a statement that 17months is enough to end insecurity before (President) Buhari leaves, what is your stand to that effect?.

I relate that question to an illustration in football match where a team will have to wait till the last 15mins to come back from a 4-0 deficit. The Book-Haram issue has dug deep into the system

How much support do you think Nigeria can ask from the international organization or people like you?

Patriotism is what is keeping us intact, but the Government worry too much that if the US interfere they would take over our political and economical power including the oil. We know the brains are in place but we also need the experience in matters like this.

What has been the problems that insurgency have not been solve since 2012?.

Proper dialogue should be taken into consideration and map out a true intelligence plan and battle strategies to end this madness. I can be of help if am allowed but as long as the intelligence plan remains a top secret there is nothing I can do.USA are willing to help but we Nigerians are not trusting enough imagine we buy weapons from Israel yet the no 1 spy in America is Israeli and also the main reason US is not in the picture is because our leaders do not want it. At first, there was a motion whereby the US armies were coming to Africa. I personally told the General in charge to come and establish their base in Nigeria but he later called me that your people do not want us, so they moved to Ghana .  Just 50,000 US troops stationed in Nigeria is enough to end Book-Haram with the effort of all joint patrols. Imagine we went ahead to buy war tanks from Israel while in Ogun state [Ogere] the same tanks are made there that armies from Mozambique come in to buy. All the Government agencies in America drives only cars made in US but in Nigeria we import cars and call them Tokunbo when we have INNOSON motors. We should be able to encourage and utilize resources and not kill dreams. Sometimes I heard that Nigerian soldiers were stranded in battles which will never happen in America. On a final note I see hope, but let’s empower our youths and make them understand what it is to be patriotic, like I said earlier hope is on the way but all our leaders should help with good intent.