For some time now, I deliberately refused to register in the somewhat national debate about the Nigerian Army and its leadership. I have read the divergent opinions from Nigerians about the Army’s ongoing counter-terrorism in Nigeria, with Northeast in focus, where troops are trying to exterminate the remnants of the insurgents in what is usually called clearance operations.
I discovered there are deliberate attempts by some Nigerian critics, commentators and analysts to undermine the Army as an institution and its leadership in the person of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, who doubles as the head of the counter-insurgency operations in the country.
Of course, some of these commentaries and commentators support and appreciate the army for its rare sacrifices to free the country from the vice-like grip of terrorism. But a few others attempt, vainly, to cast aspersions, underrate or even malign our troops and the leadership. I consider it…
