The announcement by General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major-General Tamunomieibi Dibi, that Nigeria was deploying 700 soldiers on a peace mission in Liberia took many Nigerians by surprise, considering the enormous security challenges at home.The GOC, who was represented by Brigadier Abubakar Maikobi at the Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre (NAPKC), Jaji, in Kaduna during the graduation of the troops from their pre-deployment training at the centre, disclosed that 35 Battalion would contribute 42 officers and 658 soldiers. The commanding officer of 192 Battalion, Lt. Col. Mohammed Ahmed, who is leading the troops to Liberia has assured the Army authorities and the nation of their readiness to perform the assigned tasks in a professional manner.
Although the troops have already left for Liberia, the question many Nigerians are asking is the wisdom of sending such a large contingent of soldiers to another country when Boko Haram insurgency has not shown any sign of diminishing despite efforts so far made by the Nigerian military.The activities of the insurgents have led to the death and displacement of thousands of people in the affected states in the past few months in particular, despite the state of emergency in place in the three states.
The terrorists have acquired notoriety in recent months, especially from their killing of school children, women and the elderly. About a month ago, students of Federal Government College, BuniYadi in Yobestate were butchered in their scores when the killers invaded their school in the night. Equally frightening is the deliberate invasion of any unlucky village in the affected states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa where the terrorists kill as many people as they can and torching houses. This has led to people fleeing their ancestral homes.
So far, the presence of soldiers in the North-east has not met the yearning and aspiration of Nigerians who want a quick action that will terminate this state of madness. It is the realisation of the above circumstance that made many people to wonder why the Nigerian Army would export 700 soldiers to keep the peace in another country while Nigerians are living in a state of fear at home.
Nigerian military has a long history of participating in international peace-keeping. In the 1960s, Nigerian Army was in the forefront of peace-keeping in the Congo.When Lebanon was burning, Nigeria contributed troops to the global peace-keeping effort to diffuse tension in that country. Similar sacrifice has been made in Darfur, Mali, Somalia, among many others.
Perhaps more spectacular is Nigeria’s sacrificial role in Liberia following the political turmoil that engulfed that West African state in the 1990s as warlords, including Charles Taylor and Prince Yomi Johnson, arrayed their private armies against President Samuel Doe and made the country ungovernable, Nigeria and other West African countries set up ECOMOG, a peace-keeping force that brought relief to Liberia.Nigeria bore most of the ECOMOG burden in money and contribution of troops. For many years, Nigeria madeup approximately 90 percent of the ECOMOG force.
In military sense, that means much sacrifice because peace-keeping in Liberia was one of the harshest ever seen in the world as the warlords refused to disarm but killed civilians, fight other militias and engage the peace-keepers in a battle at one point or the other.As things stand now, Nigeria must review itspaternalistic role in other countries; after all, charity begins at home. We call on the federal government to think about providing solution to the security challenges at home before keeping the peace in Liberia and other countries.
