by Ayo Akinfe
Given that security is the government’s number one challenge at the moment, I hope Tinubu and his service chiefs agree on a Lake Chad security plan which looks something like this
[1] An unprecedented Blitzkreig operation will be unleashed over the next few weeks to recapture those parts of Borno State still not under government control. A pincer movement will be launched in conjunction with the Chadian army to recover the entire area
[2] Nigeria will expand the Lake Chad Basin Force into a fully-fledged Ecomog Army of about 20,000 men
[3] Borno and Yobe states will each get a mechanised division of the Nigerian Army of 10,000 troops
[4] The Nigerian Navy will establish a Lake Chad Naval Command fully equipped with speed boats, amphibious troops and heavy guns
[5] This government will create a dedicated anti-terrorist Nigerian Air Force unit with its base in Borno State
[6] Nigeria’s military fighting in the northeast will be decentralised with each division having its own independent air, naval and infantry capacity
[7] Nigeria will get a special commando unit of at least battalion strength, equipped up to the competence levels of say, the US Seals, the British SAS or the French Commandoes
[8] Nigeria will start manufacturing her our own milo hardware. It is naive to think that we will get the equipment we want, when we want it, in the quantities we desire and at the prices we want on the open market
[9] The government will launch a massive hearts and minds campaign in the northeast, dropping leaflets in every village. Ordinary people need to know they are safe if they offer the Nigerian military intelligence and information
[10] Local people will be trained on how to resist the terrorists. They, for instance, will be trained on acts of sabotage like blowing up bridges, poisoning wells, blocking roads, and adulterating their petroletc, kind of similar to how partisans were during World War Two.
