Opeyemi Ibrahim

I really dislike how the Nigerian military has been disrespected for the past few days, so I will help tell a little bit of 2015 history. “All dates are in 2015” On 5th of January , News emerged that two days prior hundreds of Boko Haram militants had overrun several towns in northeast Nigeria and captured the military base in Baga. This would then be the beginning of the end of Boko haram. With an election on the Horizon, GEJ finally decided to “play ball” and wouldn’t exit the stage without a fight. On 23 January 2015, it was disclosed that Nigerian troops were in final preparations for a major offensive against Boko Haram insurgents in North Eastern Nigeria. This Operation will later become the most offensive mission ever to be undertaken by any African troop. The goal of the mission was to eliminate "safe havens and escape routes of terrorists in or out of Nigeria" and provide "once and for all comprehensive operations" to eliminate the Boko Haram threat. Before now, Boko haram has captured over 20 local government areas in Nigeria. 25 January – Boko Haram rebels launched a large offensive against Nigerian forces in Maiduguri leading to the deaths of at least eight civilians, up to 53 militants, and an unknown number of soldiers. Although the attack failed, the rebels captured the nearby strategic town of Monguno. The status of the 1,400 soldiers stationed in Monguno was unknown. As a result of these attacks, Boko Haram controlled four out of five roads leading into the major city, prompting fears that it would be taken as well. 29 January – The Nigerian military had , captured the border town of Michika from Boko Haram rebels. By 6 February, Nigerian warplanes and ground troops had forced Boko Haram forces to abandon about a dozen towns and villages. On 7 February, Nigeria announced that the elections would be postponed for six weeks, citing unsafe voting conditions in the northeast. On 16 February – Nigeria regained the key town of Monguno, Borno, from Boko Haram. The town had previously fallen to the militants on 25 January. On 21 February, The Nigerian Army retook Baga, which had fallen to Boko Haram on 3 January. During the week of 15 February, more than 300 Boko Haram fighters were killed by Nigerian forces as eleven more towns were recaptured. Various weapon stockpiles were seized or destroyed, and additional insurgents were arrested. On 6 March, the African Union officially endorsed sending 8,000 troops to help secure the Nigerian border, but declined to allow the troops to enter Nigeria. The truth is most countries in Africa were afraid of the capabilities of boko haram. Boko Haram had earlier released a video claiming that they had stockpiled “enough weapons to take on Nigeria and its neighbours" and ofcourse they weren’t bluffing. March 2 was the Battle of Konduga – 73 Boko Haram militants disguised as herders were killed near Konduga town in Borno As Boko Haram continued to lose territory, the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 7 March. The then Nigerian army spokesperson Sami Usman Kukasheka said the pledge was a sign of weakness and that Shekau was like a "drowning man". On 16 March 2015– Nigeria, began to liberate Damasak, Borno, from Boko Haram militants On 17 March, The Nigerian military reclaimed the small city of Bama, Borno, from Boko Haram. In the heat of serious battle, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had promised to disrupt the elections, then scheduled for March 28, in retaliation. On 27 March, the Nigerian army captured Gwoza, which was believed to be the location of Boko Haram headquarters. According to the army, the victory meant that "virtually all" of Boko Haram's territory had been recaptured a day before the elections. In just 6 weeks, Nigerian military retook all captured local government areas and territories once captured hereby limiting Boko haram to the Sambisa forest. On 22 April, After elections, the Nigerian military began to push into the Sambisa Forest, a dense forest covering 23,000 square miles. But Boko haram wouldnt go down without a fight. On 25 April, Boko Haram launched a counterattack on an island in Lake Chad. Boko Haram also retook the town of Marte in Borno, invading with tanks and over 2,000 troops. Yes over 2000 troops facing our gallant troop. After the attack, Niger recommended that the island of Lake Chad be evacuated. By early May, more than 5,000 people had left the island towns and reached N'guigmi, Niger by foot. An additional 11,500 evacuees were expected. Then the mother of all fights started. A fresh push into Sambisa Forest by Nigerian forces began on 27 April. As the Nigerian army advanced into the forest, it began to free a large number of women and children held as hostages by Boko Haram. On April 28, just under 300 hostages were freed. It is unclear if the freed prisoners were captured in Boko Haram raids or if they were area residents. A battle on April 29 killed over 400 Boko Haram insurgents, while freeing an undisclosed number of female captives. On 30 April, another 234 women and children were freed from Boko Haram captivity as the military destroyed 13 Boko Haram camps. In total, close to 700 hostages had been rescued. Efforts to press into the Sambisa Forest were slowed, as the military encountered landmines and booby traps. Boko Haram pushed back, launching suicide attacks on civilians and attempting to capture the Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri. On May 15, Boko Haram forces recaptured the border town of Marte, demonstrating that efforts to contain the militant group to the forest were not completely successful. The following day, the Nigerian military responded by destroying ten Boko Haram camps in the Sambisa Forest. In September 2015, the Director of Information at the Defence Headquarters of Nigeria announced that ALL Boko Haram camps had been destroyed. On 24 December 2015, Muhammadu Buhari, the President of Nigeria, claimed that Boko Haram was "technically defeated." Btw, former Chadian President idris debby had once complained about our military saying “We want the Nigerian army to come and occupy, so we can advance. We’re wasting time, for the benefit of Boko Haram, We can’t go any further in Nigeria. We’re not an army of occupation.” What happened?, Chadian army had chased Boko haram into Nigeria and held the borders around Dikwa, Damasak and Gamboru. But Nigeria started the war from the southern part and gradually advanced towards the border. Afraid that boko haram may initiate a reprisal attack that the Chadian may not be able to deal with, he had to cry to international media and lie that Chadian military was taking over/securing Nigerian land, because he needed the Nigerian troops stationed at the border. Ofcourse the Nigerian military came to the rescue. I will stop here but believe me when I say boko haram changed the history of the Nigerian military forever. What the Nigerian military achieved from January - December 2015 would be very hard to replicate by any military in the world especially in view Of the limited hardware. The things I heard from officers( including a former GOC of 82 division, men of the army special force of 174 battalion and men of defence Intelligence agency) who lived through the moments and fought for the country are so surreal that they are best imagined. The capabilities of the Nigerian military infantry is almost second to none not just in Africa but the world. When I show western military officers the videos of officers training at buni yadi for their battle inoculation, they usually stare in disbelief at the unbelievability of the trainings. I may not be able to vouch for officers that graduated between year (2000 - 2010), but I can vouch for the officers that graduated in subsequent years that they can hold down their own anywhere in the world, with endearing and Almost impossible capabilities. By the way, mohammed Toumba, one of the coup plotters in Niger had under his control 2000 soldiers yet couldn’t secure the northern border of Niger from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin terrorists group (JNIM) which is a baby faction of Boko haram, instead he blamed Mali for not supplying soldiers. These are the kind of nuisance officers Nigerians are scared of 🤦🏾‍♂️. I insist that sending the Nigerian military to 🇳🇪 is an insult. Their Senegalese and Ivorian counterpart is more than enough to deal with the coup plotters. God bless the Nigerian military, God bless Nigeria.