By Our Reporter
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that for Nigeria to effectively fight insurgency, the country requires a combination of training, equipment, intelligence and technology.
Obasanjo expressed worry that the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria has lasted longer than the country’s civil war that took place between 1967 and 1970, adding that there was nothing wrong with Nigerian military receiving training in countries that have solved insurgency challenge.
He spoke on Sunday during the ‘Toyin Falola Interviews’ conversation, that involved other panelists including the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah, and a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Kingsley Moghalu.
The former President cited his experience with the Niger Delta militancy, stressing that he will not rule out the tendency of security personnel colluding with insurgents.
He said: “There are four important items and I hope that those who are in charge — military, executive, and legislature — know what they are doing. First, there is training. There are different types of training. The military is trained for conventional war.
“If the people you are dealing with are fleeting targets or living among your people, you will need different types of training to deal with them.
“Among the countries that have done that fairly successfully is Colombia. Should we invite them to train our people? There is no shame in that. It is a specialised type of training.
“There is the equipment. The equipment to fight that type of warfare. It differs from equipment for conventional warfare. The other one is intelligence. You need absolute intelligence. Can others trust us with the intelligence that they have?
“The fourth one is technology. These four have to come together and do other things internally.
“Then you ask the military to be the one buying equipment. It is not done. The whole thing is an industry. It is an industry.
“Civil war lasted for 30 months. Although we thought it would last for six months. But this fight against insurgents and criminals has lasted for almost 15 years.”