Why Boko Haram Took Over Sambisa Forest – Col A. Aminu (rtd)

Colonel Abdulmumini Aminu was the first on the list of those identified as  IBB Boys during the administration of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. He was  appointed the military governor of Borno State while he was a major. He later  became the pioneer commander of the National Guard, a national security  outfit set up by Babangida to handle internal and external security issues. In  this interview, he explained why IBB is accused of introducing indiscipline in  the military, his vision for Sambisa Forest and what could be done to tackle  insurgency in the country.

As the pioneer commander of the defunct National Guard you must have been to the Sambisa Forest. We learnt that the training ground of that outfit was there. What is the nature of military facilities in the forest?

Yes! I was the pioneer commander of the National Guard and Sambisa was one of the places we identified as a suitable training ground. I think the mobile police were using the facility at that time, but we eventually took over because they abandoned the place. The National Guard was established with the best of intentions. It was for the national security of this country, but it was misconstrued by politicians and other people in the military to be intended to perpetuate Babangida as the president of Nigeria. But sincerely speaking, if the National Guard was allowed to stay as designed and planned to operate, we wouldn’t have been experiencing all these kidnappings, armed robbery and even Boko Haram. It would have been tackled before it became what it is today. We had the wherewithal, the facility and the equipment to tackle all kinds of situations. As a commander, I visited about nine countries in the world where there were established National Guard, and they were doing well. But ours was disbanded.

Before the establishment of the National Guard, Abacha was the minister of defence and chief of defense staff. He saw the establishment of the outfit as what would usurp his power and authority because it was supposed to have officers and men from the air force, navy, army, police and the State Security Service (SSS). It was supposed to be a very mighty venture. In any case, I wouldn’t blame Abacha because anyone in his shoes would feel the same way. They did all they could to stop its establishment, but they did not succeed. That was why one of his first assignments Abacha undertook as head of state was to retire us and disband the National Guard.

I am not saying they should establish National Guard again because there is the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). It should play the role of the National Guard. They should be well equipped and exposed to different kinds of trainings. The National Guard was to participate in the territorial defence of Nigeria in case of outside aggression and other challenges. They are supposed to be the first outfit to engage the enemy. Where they cannot handle the enemy from outside, then they need to call the military to take over from there. At that stage, the enemy must have been weakened. The military is overstretched the way they are being used. The military is called in any small thing, and that shouldn’t be. That is why the NSCDC needs to be strengthened. When the economy improves, this government should try and strengthen the NSCDC.

From what you are saying, it would have been a capital intensive project. 

Any security outfit has capital intensive components. The question is: Do you want security or you want to keep your money? Let me tell you that security is the first and foremost requirement for any government. If the people are well secured, everything will fall into place. When we don’t have security, even the economy will fall. If money is spent on security, it will pay itself even if it will take time. Sometimes we don’t see the physical benefit of it, but the social aspect. We have to shield the military from the civilians. We can also engage the police and the civil defence, but the only way to achieve this is to train them properly and motivate them well.

So you don’t support the current involvement of the military in many operations that have made them mix up with the civil populace?

It’s not a matter of support; this is the only option they have now. They don’t have any alternative. If they had developed the police and the civil defence properly, there would not be any need to have the military everywhere. In most cases, they can’t be replaced because we don’t even have the manpower to do that. People are kept in that place for one or two years, and you will discover that their output will be degraded and their morale will be low. Even their commitment and discipline will be degraded as well. So there are a lot of negative things as a result of that.

What about the suggestions that the civilian JTF be absorbed into the army?

The civilian JTF is a good omen for the country. They did very well. I like the way they operate, but you see, people can’t just be absorbed just like that. Even people that are recruited into the military go through a lot of screening, not in terms of whether they can do the job but in terms of their background and so on. This is because if care is not taken, wrong people can be recruited into the system. I am not against recruiting them, but proper screening should be conducted. The military should give them whatever help they can afford.

What kind of facilities do you have in Sambisa Forest?  Does it have an underground bunker that cannot be detected through air surveillance?

No, which bunker? I told you the police were training there. Is it the police that would establish a bunker? The police were using it as a range for small trainings.  You could see small buildings around the place, but it is not big.

As the military governor of Borno State, my intention was to establish Sambisa  Forest as a tourist site like the Yankari Game Reserve, but when I left, the entire idea  was abandoned.  Maybe if we had that and the National Guard was there, the insurgents wouldn’t have found the place convenient to establish their base.  It was because the place was abandoned and no activity was going on there that it was easy for them to take it over. The forest itself is massive. You need to go and see.

Don’t you think the Boko Haram insurgents took over the place because there were training facilities there? 

Initially, I didn’t know they had the capacity to do that kind of thing. But I know that whoever is carrying out military operations will find Sambisa an excellent place, especially when we are talking about insurgency.

It is very difficult to fight terrorism because these are people who can come in different ways and blend with the populace. And you can’t kill everybody. That is why sometimes they have advantage over the soldiers. Soldiers don’t just fight with everybody; they have to identify the enemy. Under such circumstance, it is really difficult to pinpoint who is a terrorist. That is why sometimes they surprise the military.

Did the National Guard leave any weapon in the Sambisa Forest? 

How can we leave weapons there? Any weapon you have, whether big or small, has to be manned. As a soldier you need to always go with your weapon. That is why it is called your wife. So the question of keeping weapons there does not arise.

But you said they were used for training.

Even if they were for training, there would be people to man them.

The Boko Haram insurgents have been operating for several years; why didn’t you alert the country that there was such a military training facility in Borno? Did you take it for granted that those in government knew?

Of course they know. You see, in Borno State, there has been the 21 Armoured Brigade, which has a battalion each in Moguno, Bama and Maiduguri. So it is part of their duty to identify good training areas, and that place is one of them. They don’t need to tell anybody to go there and train.  The facility is there to be developed and utilised, so I assumed I didn’t need to tell anybody.

CULLED FROM DAILY TRUST