In a video shared by Trust TV from 18:02, Prof. Usman Yusuf, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), raised a critical question he would pose to himself and Nigeria’s military chiefs if he were president: Why did Nigeria manage to conclude the civil war in 30 months but continues to combat Boko Haram for over 15 years?
Expanding on his point in the video, he highlighted that despite lacking the advanced military equipment possessed by the Nigerian military, these bandits have engaged in conflict for over 9 years. He emphasized that they rely solely on motorcycles and AK-47s, with some of these weapons being makeshift, yet the military has struggled to contain them.
According to him, “This is not just a military problem and it can never be won on the battlefield; conflicts like that have never been won on the battlefield. If I’m the president, I will ask myself: Nigeria fought the civil war in 30 months, with all the guns, all the help, and the tanks; the civil war lasted 30 months, but we’ve been fighting this banditry for 9 years. Why? If I’m the president, this is what I will ask: I will ask all my military chiefs, we fought the civil war for 30 months, why are we still fighting Boko Haram for 15 years? Why are we still fighting banditry for 9 years? Who are the bandits? We’ve seen them; they don’t have tanks, they don’t have drones; they are on their motorcycles with AK-47s and some of them are homemade.”…..Sée Móre