Security analyst Dickson Osajie has accused the Nigerian military of politicising the fight against terrorism, describing the situation as demoralising for Nigerians.
Osajie made the remarks on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, following recent United States airstrikes on ISIS terrorist camps in Sokoto State.
According to him, it is troubling that the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force have been unable to decisively overpower terrorist groups, despite their numerical and strategic advantage.
“The Nigerian military has been so political with this battle for a very long time. It is so disturbing that we need to have the Americans come all the way from the United States, even though they activated the United States Africa Command to carry out the strikes.”
His comments come after the Federal Government confirmed that 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed using MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial platforms in a joint Nigerian–United States operation targeting terrorist enclaves.
Osajie criticized what he described as the military’s long-standing “conquer and abandon” strategy, arguing that it has allowed terrorists to regroup and reoccupy reclaimed territories.
“Conquer and abandon in the sense that each time you conquer any territory, don’t abandon such territory to these terrorist groups. When you abandon such territory, they will go back and regroup.”
He stressed that military operations must go beyond clearing terrorist strongholds, urging authorities to ensure sustained control and governance in liberated areas.
“So the government should look into the conquering and abandoning technique currently being used. They should ensure that whenever the Army conquers a territory, they should take it, hold the territory, and build the territory. There should be a structure of governance within that given environment,” he said.
