OpinionOPINION: CHALLENGE FACING FAROUK YAHAYA

OPINION: CHALLENGE FACING FAROUK YAHAYA

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The appointment of Major-General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff on May 27, 2021, has generally elicited loud endorsements from Nigerians. His appointment followed the sudden demise of his predecessor, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, who died in a plane crash, along with 10 other military personnel in Kaduna a week ago.

Gen Yahaya, one of Nigeria’s finest breeds of trained infantry soldiers, has a rich profile and experience in counter-terrorism. A member of the 37 Regular Course of the prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps on September 22, 1990.

Over the past decades, Yahaya has held numerous staff, instructional and command appointments in the Nigerian Army. He was a Garrison Commander, Headquarters Guards Brigade; Deputy Director of Army Research and Development; Military Secretary; the Chief of Staff, Headquarters of Joint Task Force Operation Pulo Shield; and the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, among others.

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Until his recent appointment as COAS, Yahaya’s service records were synonymous with military excellence globally. He has been deeply involved in the campaign to rid the country of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, functioning in his capacity as the Theatre Commander of the renamed counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency military outfit code-named ‘Operation Hadin Kai.’ The Hausa word, ‘Hadin Kai’ literally means ‘cooperation’ in English.

In the last six years, the Nigerian Army, no doubt, has dealt a fatal blow on Boko Haram insurgents, ISWAP terrorists, armed bandits and other allied cross border armed criminal gangs who have taken great delight in terrorising parts of the country. With the confusion and internal fighting in the Boko Haram and ISWAP camps, coupled with the sustained pressure mounted on these terrorists by the Nigerian Army, the appointment of Gen Yahaya as Chief of Army Staff is quite significant to efforts aimed at stamping out all forms of terrorism in the country.

There is no disputing the fact that Yahaya will not only excel in his new assignment, but also his achievements will surpass that of his predecessors. The general public expects him to live up to expectation by breaking new records in the prosecution of Nigeria’s renamed counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations.

Yahaya’s appointment means many things to different Nigerians and it has spurted various dimensions of national discourse. But the dormant and inescapable feature of these perceptions is the trust and confidence reposed in him, as well as the belief in his competence and ability to finally extinguish the raging fires of terrorism in Nigeria.

However, there are a few leftists in Nigeria who have never failed to rubbish any policy or decision pronounced by the Buhari Presidency. These minority discordant voices have formed the habit of faulting every decision of the President. This is not necessarily based on sound reasoning, but from selfish, unpatriotic and self-satisfying prisms. This group of Nigerians is blind to the anticipated impact of Yahaya on Nigeria’s anti-insurgency campaign.

These ethno-religious bigots and promoters of regionalism are not pleased with President Buhari in his choice of Gen Yahaya simply because the battle tested Army general is not from their part of the country. The expressed sentiment is that Buhari would have attracted their eulogies had he appointed someone from their part of the country, even if he is glaringly incompetent or unqualified. It is the usual hypocritical trait in most Nigerians, which has held back the progress of this country for many decades.

Many of the critics are laughably questioning Buhari’s failure to appoint an Igbo into the National Security Council. The truth is that the National Security Council is not an arena for ethnic groups or campaigners, but a serious platform for tested and trusted senior military officers. It is easy to notice the confusion in the camps of these disguised saboteurs. It is not surprising that none of them is faulting the appointment of Gen Yahaya as COAS based on competence or previously poor service records. Instead, their grouse is that he should have been a top-ranking Igbo, Yoruba or Ijaw military officer.

For those who are knowledgeable in security matters, Yahaya’s appointment is one of the best that President Buhari has made since the beginning of the year. Anyone who thinks otherwise should contest this assertion. As someone who has served as GOC and later, theatre commander in the Northeast, Yahaya is deserving of the mandate to lead the war against insurgency ad terrorism in the country.

Nigerians, particularly the troops in the frontlines, expect the new COAS to immediately restore suspended Army core values, which initially sustained counter-insurgency operations. These include the return of all quarterly exercises, development of a versatile Intelligence gathering network/ instruments, sustenance of the apolitical posturing of soldiers and decisive warfare expeditions against all armed criminal elements across the country.

Nigerians are assured that with the known records of Gen Yahaya the country is about to witness the final defeat of insurgents, terrorists and their sponsors. The COAS will certainly make Nigeria proud because he is prepared and well equipped to deliver on the task given to him. Nigerians wish him and his team good luck.

•Agbese is a publisher and human rights law researcher based in the United Kingdom

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