As the military intensifies efforts to end terrorism in the country, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff, has said a combination of physical and spiritual battle has become necessary to end the menace.
This is even as US President, Donald Trump, while congratulating Nigeria on its 59th independence anniversary Monday, charged President Muhammadu Buhari to drive out Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province, ISWAP, from the nation’s territories.
However, Buratai noting that ideology was the main driver of terrorists’ activities, insisted that spiritual warfare must be deployed immediately against the enemy forces.
The Army chief spoke yesterday at a seminar organised by the Nigerian Army to fashion out ways of unleashing spiritual battle against terrorists whose activities, he regretted, had caused Nigeria so much damage.
According to him, besides the ongoing counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, “spiritual” interventions are urgently needed to defeat Boko Haram and other extremist groups threatening the peace and security of the nation.
To this end, he Buratai appealed to religious organisations as well as other relevant groups with grassroots connection to be in the forefront of the spiritual battle, with a view to stopping the growth of the ideology, while ushering in new thinking.
Represented by the Chief of Administration, Major General Sani Yusuf, Buratai particularly tasked clerics in the Nigerian Army to lead in the spiritual battle against the enemy forces.
“Religious bodies and organisations in particular who interface regularly with the grassroots should be in the forefront of this spiritual battle and fashion out ways of stepping up their roles.
“It is easier to defeat Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists than their ideology because, while we degrade the terrorists and their havens, the narrative of the ideology grows the group.
“Therefore, communities, families, and groups should join in the fight and narratives to reject and prevent the ideologies of the terrorists and extremist groups,”he said.
While assuring that troops would sustain ongoing counter-terrorism operations, Buratai said the fight should not be left to the military alone.
He said: “The fight against terrorism, Boko Haram and ISWAP, as well as other security threats, cannot be left to the troops in the battle field alone.
“Yes, we will do our duties, but the need to tackle groups through spiritual warfare and re-orientating the followers against the ideology is also a necessity.
“It is a well-known fact that terrorism and terrorist groups cannot be totally eliminated by mainly military actions.
“This means focusing our efforts on the underlying narratives through ideologies that are employed by these terrorists to lure innocent citizens to their fold.
“The need to defeat the ideologies of Boko Haram and ISWAP is based on the awareness that it is the ideologies that enhance their resources and help to recruit new fighters to their fold and as such; kill their ideology and the terrorist movement withers and dies.”
The Nigerian Army Spiritual Warfare Seminar was tagged “Countering Insurgency and Violent Extremism in Nigeria through Spiritual Warfare.”
Meanwhile, as Nigeria celebrates 59 years of independence on October 1, 2019, US President, Donald Trump, in his congratulatory message, yesterday, told President Muhammadu Buhari, to chase out Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province, ISWAP, of Nigeria.
Trump, whose message was routed through the US Embassy in Abuja, said: “On behalf of the American people, I extend our warmest greetings and congratulate you on the 59th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence.
“Nigeria is among our strongest partners in Africa. We share common goals of expanding trade and growing our economic relationship. We are allies in the global battle against terrorism, and we want to see Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa driven out of the region and other insurgencies like them dismantled.
“The United States welcomes efforts by your administration to diversify opportunities for your talented, creative, and hardworking people to the benefit of both our countries, Africa, and the world.
“I am pleased that following our meeting last year, our Vice Presidents are also building on our longstanding history of cooperation. I wish the people of Nigeria continued success as you mark another year of independence.”
