The Nigerian military seems ready
to go any length to defend the progress it has made in the ongoing war against
insurgency in the north-east.
With the debate on the
correctness or otherwise of the $1bn approved by governors to fight the Boko
Haram war, the military has taken an unusual step in explaining why the
decision is “the best” for the country.
John Enenche, director of defence
information, appeared on a Channels TV programme on Monday, to talk about the
funds and why the military needs it.
And he brought with him the most
unusual of companions: two military arms — an Ak-47 and another unidentified
rifle.
His reasons? “I brought the arms
to the studio to make Nigerians understand the efforts that have been made so
far with what, among several other things, that the armed forces of Nigeria
have used to prosecute the war against insurgency and terrorism in the
north-east,” he told the anchor.
Enenche further said while one of
the arms — the Ak-47 — is outdated, the other is what “every soldier has as a
personal weapon” when involved in a fight against terrorism.
“One of them is Ak-47, which is
what we have been using to prosecute a special war. Ak-47 is used to prosecute
a conventional operation,” he said.
“The other one, I will not
mention the name, is obviously different in every way. That is the kind of
equipment necessary to prosecute the war in the north-east. The differences
between the two are miles apart.
“If it were to be in Russia for
instance, this sophisticated weapon is supposed to be the personal weapon of
every soldier to confront insurgency and terrorism.
“It has special features. What is
the capacity of the magazine? 30. What about the telescopic sights? Very, very
accurate. Yet, the armed forces of Nigeria has been prosecuting the war against
insurgency with Ak-47 of the second world war in the 18th century. And we have
come this far.”
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