Former Chief Of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Kenneth Minimah, yesterday said even though he took over office at a time the activities of Boko Haram are at their peak, he was able to degrade the potency of the group and reduce them to a band of criminals and petty thieves.
Minimah said he was able to reclaim all lost territories hitherto occupied by the terrorists and stabilize security in the North-Central part of the country during his brief stay in office.
He, however, said the successes recorded in the anti-Boko Haram operations did not come cheap, saying: “It came with sweat and blood of all of us.”
Minimah, who spoke while handing over the mantle of leadership to his successor, Major General Tukur Buratai, at the Army Headquarters in Abuja, recalled how the violence and insecurity unleashed on innocent Nigerians by the insurgents had reached unprecedented heights and how the terrorists nearly brought the Nigerian Army and the entire armed forces to their knees when he assumed office.
The army chief said barracks were sacked at random, weapons and ammunition carted away and vulnerable civilians wantonly killed. He also said the morale of troops was at its lowest ebb, while soldiers regularly fled the battlefield on the slightest indication of an approaching adversity.
“Sadly, the nation began to lose confidence in its army and military. The situation was no less grim in the North-Central and North-West of the country where armed bandits, cattle rustlers and ethnic militias held sway,” he said.
He said the army under his leadership took decisive actions to deal with the menace of terrorism, criminality and many other challenges under very difficult circumstances.
Minimah, who commended the contributions of officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army for the successes recorded in the counter insurgency war, said: “As I hand over today, I am happy to inform you that the Boko Haram insurgency is at the throes of a certain defeat. During my tenure, we were able to reclaim all territories earlier lost to the terrorists, sufficiently degraded their potency and reduced them to a band of criminals and petty thieves.”
“We were also able to stabilize the situation in the North-Central zone. These achievements, I must say, were recorded as a result of our collective efforts, it would not have been possible without your support and tireless effort too to ensure that the Nigerian Army remained relevant, potent and lived up to the expectations of the generality of Nigerians.”
The former army chief, who said he had to take some usual actions to address some unusual events, like the various court martials that came up during his tenure, explained that even though some of the actions he took might be adjudged too strict, especially in dealing with cases of cowardice and indiscipline in the field, he had to do that to arrest the drift towards chaos that the army was heading.
He, however, said he was happy that the result in the field today justified the actions he took, saying: “Today, I am leaving behind an army that can hold its own against any adversary without batting an eyelid.”
He called on officers and soldiers to support his successor in office to bring the terrorist group to its knees.
In his address, the new COAS, while thanking President Buhari for his appointment, commended General Minimah for installing indiscipline in the army.
