The Nigerian Army has refuted rumors that it has inferior weapons when compared with that of the Boko Haram sect. In a statement released on Wednesday through its social media pages, it said that soldiers will not stop fighting the terrorists regardless of the challenges they face.
Part of the statement reads, “Boko Haram terrorists are not better equipped than the Nigerian Army. Nigerian Army is the pride of the nation.”
A couple of videos have been making rounds recently on various social media platforms. Some of them featured some soldiers saying that they have inferior weapons yet, are expected to fight Boko Haram.
One soldier was seen saying, “Many of our men have died. We have to go home. If Nigeria is ready, they can call us back to fight those idiots.”
“But we do not have adequate weapons to fight them. We are going home to be with our families. Weapons make a soldier. Without weapons, you are not a soldier.”
As part of its response to the trending clip, the Nigerian Army also stated, “Fake news, false publication, hate speech, and terrorist propaganda cannot deter our resolve from protecting our nation. No retreat, no surrender. Victory is sure.”
Elsewhere, Dr. Oludare Ogunlana, a counter-terrorism analyst in the United States, has urged Nigerians to show support for the military and always encourage them. However, he mentioned that Nigerians need to learn how to also hold the military leaders accountable.
He said, “also, one of the patriotic obligations is to hold our military leaders accountable and call for transparency, diligence and high-level commitment in a turbulent period.”
He continued, “The military leaders should learn how to relate to the public in a civilized manner to warrant public support for their operations. In response to the claim by the military authorities that the Boko Haram war has been politicized, the war is not, the Nigeria military got stuck in politics.”
Ogunlana then asked the Federal Government to introduce new tactics, as well as technology that will help win the war against Boko Haram in no time.
He explained, “A need exists to enhance capability in the science of intelligence and preparedness to win the war against terror. A country that lacks a culture of preparedness cannot mitigate the threat of terrorism.”
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