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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria has lasted longer than the country’s civil war that took place between 1967 to 1970.
He spoke on Sunday during the ‘Toyin Falola Interviews’ conversation, which was live-streamed on social media.
Other panellists were Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of the Sokoto diocese, and Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Reacting to questions on insurgency in Nigeria, the ex-president said leadership must understand that Nigeria needs a combination of training, equipment, intelligence, and technology to end insurgency.
Obasanjo said there is nothing wrong with Nigeria’s military personnel going for training in countries that have solved the insurgency challenge.
Citing his experience with the Niger Delta militancy, Obasanjo said he will not rule out the tendency of security personnel colluding with insurgents.
“There are four important items and I hope that those who are in charge — military, executive, and legislature — know what they are doing,” he said.
“First, there is training. There are different types of training. The military is trained for conventional war.
“If the people you are dealing with are fleeting targets or living among your people, you will need different types of training to deal with them.
“Among the countries that have done that fairly successfully is Colombia. Should we invite them to train our people? There is no shame in that. It is a specialised type of training.
“There is the equipment. The equipment to fight that type of warfare. It is different from the equipment for conventional warfare. The other one is intelligence. You need absolute intelligence. Can others trust us with the intelligence that they have?
“The fourth one is technology. These four have to come together and do other things internally.
“Then you ask the military to be the one buying equipment. It is not done. The whole thing is an industry. It is an industry.
“Civil war lasted for 30 months. Although we thought it would last for six months. But this fight against insurgents and criminals has lasted for almost 15 years.”
The former military head of state narrated how he visited Maiduguri in 2011 to find out the origin, grievances, and leadership of Boko Haram
Obasanjo said the insurgents initially refused to negotiate with the federal government.
He said Boko Haram would later agree to a 21-day ceasefire to allow for negotiations. Government failed to reach out to the Boko Haram leaders, Obasanjo added.
