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A former Director of Operations at the Army Headquarters, Major General Ijioma N. Ijioma (rtd), has warned Nigerians not to expect the United States Army to engage bandits on the battlefield.
Ijioma gave the warning following the deployment of a team of US troops to Nigeria.
Speaking to Vanguard, the retired General slammed Nigerian leaders for lacking the political will to confront banditry and terrorism decisively, stressing that only Nigerian troops can ultimately defeat the insurgents.
According to him, if the Federal Government had handled the 1967 Biafran insurgency with the same “kid gloves” being used against bandits and Boko Haram today, “there would have been a Biafra Republic by now.”
The retired General urged Nigerians to demand answers from their leaders on why terrorists are being treated with leniency.
“The United States does not risk the lives of its soldiers for nothing,” he said, calling on Nigerians to ask what form of agreement or compensation exists between Nigeria and the US.
Gen. Ijioma argued that terrorists have grown bolder even after recent US airstrikes on their camps, insisting that once Nigeria’s leadership demonstrates genuine resolve, the insurgency would be crushed.
“I have made it clear that the involvement of the United States, whether through air bombardment or collaboration, should not have been necessary if the Nigerian leadership had the political will to deal with insurgency.
“The strike the US carried out in Sokoto and Kwara, is there anywhere our fighter jets could not have bombed? There is no place within Nigeria that our aircraft cannot reach. The reason they haven’t done the needful tells you clearly that what we lack is political will”, he said.
He wondered why Nigerian fighter jets were swiftly deployed to the Benin Republic to quell an attempted coup, while bandits killing Nigerians daily remain largely unchecked.
According to him, “Fighter jets went to Benin Republic. Our troops physically went there on the President’s order. What does that tell you? It tells you there is no political will.
“The US troops are not going to deploy on the battlefield to fight Nigeria’s war. Whether we like it or not, the responsibility of eliminating militants rests with the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“The role of US troops would be limited to training, intelligence, and logistical support. They are only going to collaborate with Nigerian troops in terms of training, intelligence and technical support.”
Gen. Ijioma noted that this was not Nigeria’s first military collaboration with the United States, recalling that during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term, American military personnel occupied the entire third floor of Defence Headquarters.
“At that time, the third floor was out of bounds to Nigerian officers. The Americans visited all troop locations, mapped Nigerian barracks and equipment holdings. This was strongly opposed by the then Chief of Army Staff, late Gen. Victor Malu, who believed they had no business doing that. That disagreement led to his removal.”
