Truth be told, I think Governor Zullum is wrong in the way he confronts the soldiers whenever BH attacks civilian targets. BH are constantly on the move. They do not stay in one place for too long to avoid being detected by our Airforce.
Our soldiers are the ones fighting this war and I am sure they won’t take it kindly if a civilian who does not know anything about fighting a war constantly embarrasses them in public. Money cannot replace the sacrifice these soldiers go through to keep us safe. The least we can do is show them some respect.
If Governor Zullum feels things are not going the way they should he should document his misgivings and seek a private audience with the President. The President himself being a retired general will frown at the way Zullum addresses his troops in public. The mistake any governor can make is to rebuke a commanding officer in the presence of his subordinates and in public. The humiliation will be too much to bear.
Without intending to sound callous Nigerian civilians do not obey simple instructions. Everybody knows Borno State is a war zone. The military being in charge of security we are bound to obey instructions they issue out because it is for our own protection. If the instruction is no vehicle should be allowed into Maiduguri after 5pm why should anybody disobey such an instruction?
BH is frustrated at this moment. Their senior commanders are being eliminated by our military, they don’t have the capability to hold on to any territory. They have been reduced to banditry, raiding villages for food supplies. Out of frustration they turn their guns on civilians. We should understand the situation they are in. They cannot inflict casualties on our military so out of frustration kill civilians.
Whether we like to believe it or not BH has been degraded from a fighting force to bandits scrounging for food. It is the height of ingratitude to call on the person who is responsible for degrading BH to this level to resign.
Writing by Ishiyaku GangJidda