As is the case with collation and use of statistics in Nigeria, no one really knows how many soldiers and civilians have lost their lives in the terrorism war in the country. In the North West, North East and North Central, the war against terrorism and banditry has been on for more than a decade, and things are seemingly not getting better. A lot has been said about government’s preparedness to combat the evil, as men and materials are inadequate.

One sector that has borne the brunt mostly is the Nigerian Armed Forces whose officers and men were engaged officially by the state for a time like this, especially in the case of external aggression. However, when it became apparent that the police could not contain the insurgency in the North East, soldiers were brought out of the barracks and there has been no let since then.

Some retired Generals have now called on the Federal Government to take decisive measures to end the war of attrition. In view of an unofficial figure of 714 soldiers killed on the battle field, or some in their bases, the retired Generals have pointed out that what is needed is getting advanced technology and weapons that would locate, smoke out and neutralise the enemies of state that have cost us so much in men and materials.

Coming from Generals who have fought in the war and saw their comrades and subordinates pay the ultimate price, their observations should be taken seriously. It calls to question the adequacy of the steps taken by the Federal Government so far despite the trillions of Naira already appropriated to combat insecurity. There should be an audit of what is available, what was purchased under this administration and how they have been deployed. There have been cases of Brigade Commanders and other senior military officers apprehended for diverting funds meant to prosecute the war to personal purpose. Are there others who engaged in similar nefarious activities? Military authorities should cast the net wide in identifying such criminal activities. As the Generals pointed out, an asymmetrical war like we are fighting in Nigeria can only be won on the intelligence plane. There are so many intelligence agencies and arms of the armed forces that ought to work together to guide the fighting forces. There are suggestions that the agencies are not working in harmony, otherwise, how could the fact that terrorists continue to abduct and keep victims for months be explained? So much is expected of the Department of State Services and the National Intelligence Agency, in particular, but so little seems to be coming from them.

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