Boko Haram Intransigence; Nigeria’s Resistance: Buratai, the Combative COAS bares it All inside Sambisa.

As the night wears on, the retinue of senior Army officers dissolves to a trickle. General Officers Commanding (GOCs) saunter out of the thermo-induced chill of the Nigerian Army situation room, like rivulets trickling through a cottage roof, into Borno’s rising temperature.

Most of the Generals are long gone now. Some wait impatiently outside, but General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff (COAS), adjusts on his seat and clasps his hands.

He thinks of the ‘others’ who will be forever absent from future sessions because they won’t make it to be ‘General.’

Buratai bemoans those who would never partake of the food, laughter and the Nigeria Army’s philosophy of cartridges and buckshot.

He remembers the gallant foot soldier and the officer who died fighting and defending him.

He also remembers the Brigadier-General whose life rapidly ebbed, in the hail of terrorist sect, Boko Haram’s deadly bullets.

A deadly encounter

Buratai recollects in sad, measured words, the brutal happenstance that nearly cost Nigeria its number one military General and marksman.

“I was with them and my convoy was ambushed by Boko Haram. Instead of withdrawing back to Maiduguri, I said, ‘No! We are in this together, I can’t go back.

“We must all go together to clear the ambush”.

No! We must advance to clear them!’ I said. ‘’So I advanced with them and that was how we cleared the ambush. If the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) does not turn back, who would turn and run from such an ambush?

I advanced with the troops and it paid off.

Unfortunately, we lost two soldiers; one of them was an officer. One other soldier, a Brigadier-General, got wounded in the attack.

Varied accounts of the incident flooded the traditional and new media in its wake, but Buratai’s narrative of the encounter elicits the passing tribute of a sigh.

The incident, according to the COAS, was one of the major turning points in the country’s war against Boko Haram; that the Chief of Army Staff was advancing to visit the troops at the war front and Boko Haram attacked him in an ambush made good read.

But that he refused to retreat to the safety of his guest house in Maiduguri and instead, advanced with the troops to ‘clear the ambush’ resonates even as you read, as the best of military legend.

The legend is true. Buratai did lead an assault against Boko Haram, under hostility and intense gunfire. Boko Haram militants struck at his convoy about 45 kilometres or 28 miles east of Borno’s capital, Maiduguri.

General Buratai had been visiting troops to encourage them and boost their morale in their fight against the terrorists.

But between the villages of Mafa and Dikwa, remnants of Boko Haram laid an ambush on the entourage of the chief of army staff.

The army killed 10 of the terrorists and captured five. Two soldiers got killed and five were wounded in the ambush.

Being an army chief is no walk in the park. Even for Buratai, the task may seem challenging. Still, it is the ultimate job.

It is the spiky tip of the spear overseeing the men and women bearing the rifles and laying down their lives that others might live.

From his perch at the Nigeria Army Headquarters, it could be hard to make out the regular people: the infantry soldiers and officers serving as buffer and hauling themselves as human shields against the hail of enemy bullets that Nigeria might live.

It could be dicey taking the lead and even more challenging to earn the troops’ respect and sustain it. The detached army chief would emphasize the gaps between foot soldiers and the highest command.

From his high office, he would see underlings as disposable human integers and the gallant men and women slugging it out with Boko Haram on the nation’s fringes could seem like mites in a gutter, in his estimation of things.

But Buratai detests such traditional military authority stereotype.

“None should apply to the Nigeria Army. Not under my command,” he states in kind and by language of his gangly frame.

Buratai would not be the over-indulgent general with tired girth sitting in his oversized Abuja office, to command the troops. He knows other ways to exert a commanding presence. He flaunts no devious wile or exaggerated gift of the garb.

The Nigerian COAS lacks the contrived finesse and intensity of character so common among men with oversized public offices.

His arguments non-partisan; they are disciplined and well grounded in reality. Buratai doesn’t bluff in search of depth.

He’s careful and pragmatic, which makes sense because he spent most of his career as an infantry soldier and officer.

He’s almost reticent yet confident which could be confusing. But therein subsist the peculiar riddle of his persona. Buratai doesn’t unravel to middling eye and mind.

He doesn’t do the high society party circuit because he is not a social butterfly. He prefers to eat at home with his wife when he’s not breaking bread and masala (rice cake) in the trenches with the troops. Then he gets back to work – because Tukur Buratai is Type-A-workaholic.

When conversation segues to the ongoing war against Boko Haram tagged Operation Lafiya Dole, Buratai glows from inside out.

“My greatest fulfillment is with the progress that has been made in the war against Boko Haram since I resumed as the Chief of Army Staff,” he says.

‘The situation before we came in’

“We came at a time when truly the challenge of the insurgency was very high. It was at its peak. There is no gainsaying that some progress had been made before we came in.

But the progress that was made before we came in was being overtaken by the virtual resurgence of Boko Haram terrorist group.

“At the time we came, there were only four local governments that were not under the Boko Haram terrorist group’s control out of about 27 local governments in Borno.

Same in Yobe state; two local governments were still under Boko Haram’s influence. That was the situation we met when we came in July 2015.

“As at today, those two local governments in Yobe state have been reclaimed from Boko Haram. And in Borno, all the 23 LGAs that were under the influence and control of Boko Haram have been liberated and they’ve been effectively put under the control of the elected government.

The areas that are remaining are just the peripheral, which lies along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. And Chad and Niger borders as well.

 No single local government is under the control of Boko Haram. To me, this is a major achievement and source of fulfillment,” emphasizes Buratai.

Buratai thinks too little of Boko Haram. According to him, the terrorist sect has been substantially degraded.

He said: “We just completed the small arms championship in Sambisa forest; they said they were coming to disrupt the exercise but we’ve not seen them come close to that area.

This shows that the Nigerian military is fully in control of the area and the situation.”

The improvement in the troops’ morale also gives him cause for fulfillment.

“At the time we took over, there was apprehension. There was disquiet. There was uncertainty and the basic requirements in terms of uniform and protective gears that should be readily available to the soldiers, particularly those engaging in combat, were particularly lacking.

We had our troops putting on the American camouflage among others. The situation has since changed.

“Since we took over, our troops have had access to the necessary uniforms, kit and protective gear. Although we have not achieved 100 percent, we have achieved about 85 percent success in correcting the situation.

We are still working hard to ensure that we achieve 100 percent in providing our troops’ basic needs,” argued Buratai.

The COAS stressed that, “Through the improvement of our troops’ basic training needs, promotion and welfare, we have been able to achieve greater improvement in our troops’ morale.

You can see, our troops are standing firm and penetrating into the Sambisa forest and other difficult areas that we’ve not been able to penetrate before.”

Buratai believes that “leadership is all about the people you lead.” Thus “I take the soldiers, the troops in general, as the most important aspect of soldiering.

Their welfare and the general administration of the troops is key,” he says.

The army chief argued that, “When you are a leader, you cannot just sit in your office without making contact with the people you lead.

I make contact and I think that is what broke the jinx. I don’t just sit down in my office. I started by visiting the troops. I went into the forest to see them.

I visited them down in their trenches to talk to them and listen to their worries. The contact I made and still make really makes the difference.

“Through that contact, I was able to see them, hear them and understand them. I got to know their individual challenges, unit challenges and indeed, the general operational challenges.

And then I addressed them. Those that could not be addressed immediately; I took them back to the office and assigned their resolution to the relevant departments.

I did not stop there. I spent the nights with them right in their trenches, right inside the bush, in whatever location I visited them,” he states.

Buratai didn’t just happen to be the most powerful soldier in Nigeria. His path to the top never laid out in flat miles. He got there by dint of hard work.

Perhaps it’s the meticulousness by which he approaches his work and the gestures by which he honours it that stood him out.

Indeed, very few Generals excite the splendid tribute of a cheer in the wake of their most glorious feats. Nonetheless, Buratai strikingly commands relentless tributes of ceaseless cheers by his exploits.

These days, the homage reverberates as deafening applause for the man who taught Nigeria and her African neighbours to trust in the soul and practical depth of his command of the armed forces.

The man, Buratai

If Buratai doesn’t fulfill the ubiquitous stereotype of the political army chief, it’s because he never purported to be a politician and his story was never scripted to satisfy such typecast.

The outlines of the story are, however, familiar: Born to Alhaji Yusuf Buratai, an ex-serviceman who joined the West African Army in 1942 and fought the Second World War, Buratai hails from a lineage of warriors.

An accomplished infantry senior officer, Buratai was commissioned in 1983 and he has had multiple command; administrative and instructional appointments over his 35 years illustrious career in the Nigerian Army.

He gained admission into the prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, as member of the 29 Regular Combatant Course on January 3, 1981 and got commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on December 17, 1983, into the Infantry Corps of the Nigerian Army.

Afterwards, he served in the 26 Amphibious Battalion Elele, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and as a Military Observer at the United Nations Verification Mission II in Angola.

Buratai also served as administrative officer at the State House, Abuja; 82 Motorized Battalion; 81 Battalion, Bakassi Peninsular; Army Headquarters Garrison, Abuja, before he became a Directing Staff at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji; there he earned the prestigious “Pass Staff College Dagger” (psc(+) appellation.

Buratai subsequently, served at Army Headquarters (AHQ) Dept of Army Policy and Plans, Abuja. He was also the Assistant Chief of Staff Administrative Matters, HQ Infantry Centre Jaji. Additionally, he was again at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College as Director Dept of Land Warfare from where he was appointed Commander 2 Brigade, Port Harcourt, doubling as Commander, Sector 2 JTF Operation Pulo Shield.

Upon promotion to the rank of Major General, he was appointed Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji; thereafter he was appointed Director of Procurement DHQ before being appointed Force Commander of the newly reconstituted Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin Republic an appointment he held till he became Chief of Army Staff.

His operational deployments included Operation Harmony IV in the Bakassi Peninsular, Operation Mesa, Operation Pulo Shield, Operation Safe Conduct, MNJTF, Op Zaman Lafiya and Operation Lafiya Dole.

His qualifications include the Nigerian Defence Academy Certification of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in History. He also has a Master of Arts Degree in History and Master of Philosophy Degree in Security Studies.

A highly decorated senior officer, Lt. Gen. Buratai’s honours and awards include the Nigerian Army Medal, Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Distinguished Service Star and the Grand Service Star.

Others include, Pass Staff Course Dagger (psc(+)), National Defence College (Bangladesh), Field Command Medal, Training Support Medal and the United Nations Medal for Angolan Verification Medal II.

He is a member of Historical Society of Nigeria. Lt Gen Buratai loves farming, squash racket and jogging.

For the military to gain upper hand and sustain its successes in the fight against terrorism, he said: “We require the support and cooperation of the government, civil societies and every other sector of the country.”

According to him, “Although the military has the constitutional responsibility to defend the country from external aggression and protect its territorial integrity, it can only do this if the resources of the country, government effort and citizenry support are tailored to help it in its work.

By and large, war is everybody’s responsibility and the achievement of peace too.

The Nigerian military is guided by rules and regulations and code of conduct. And the military conforms to these rules. No one can come from outside to direct us or teach us how to carry out our operations. This is where the problem is.

There is no way we can go beyond our rules of engagement which are provided for by the instrumentality of the constitution. The NGO’s criticism is a misplaced one. Such an NGO by its actions emboldens the terrorist group and indirectly speak in the terrorists’ interests – Buratai.

Despite his public office, it is a private space that Tukur Buratai occupies. It’s no dreamscape of gilded tapestry, political harlotry and fresco-style murals of exaggerated nobility.

Buratai does not pander to the pomp and pageantry of random socialites neither does he seek to conform to any political clique’s social barometer. He will not fulfill the showman with big flash and little substance stereotype.

His passion gives him strength and his unabashed humility enables him to connect to folk too many of his peers may dismiss as ‘common people.’

There are no common people in Buratai’s life. Every soldier is a hero and heroine, deserving honour and acclaim in the estimation of the Nigerian state.

Being a soldier is no easy task. Ask Buratai: in a few months, he did what his predecessors couldn’t do in four years.

He attempted the impossible and achieved results with defiant flair. But the hulking COAS would tell you that the victory is never his alone but a monumental achievement made possible by the gallantry of his troops and the Nigerian Armed Forces.

He would tell you: “Had President Muhammadu Buhari not empowered the Nigerian military with necessary funding and other support, our victories would be impossible.”

Troops speak of his unpretentious warmth and interest in their affairs. “Oga (Buratai) will tell you: Gentlemen, you know this land, you are better trained.

You’ve seen it all, done it all. Let’s go get these braggers. Let’s clear them off, which we may go home to spend time with our wives and kids.” Thus is the person of Tukur Buratai.

Different soldiers project different reflections and definitions of Buratai. Sometimes, almost every adjective becomes a cliché in describing the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff.

His leadership culture, anti-terrorism campaign, strings of victories and confrontation with Boko Haram offer a very colourful picture.

Cocksure, driven and unapologetically blunt, Buratai sought to achieve the impossible: the liberation of Borno from Boko Haram’s stranglehold. That had to be difficult. It was. Buratai had to descend into the trenches with his men.

He broke bread with them and transformed the Borno theatre of war into an unusual victors’ space founded on purely patriotic needs.

Quietly but remarkably, the army chief divorced the military from previous afflictions of public apathy and scorn.

He inspired a military culture characteristic of the quintessential patriot soldier, all in bid to recreate a Nigerian military with a different story; a gripping yarn founded on patriotism and culture indigenous to the people they are meant to protect.

It’s the stuff gallant soldiers are made of.   END

Material Courtesy Nation Newspaper