Boko Haram's Attacks Scare Nigerian Soldiers

Following the incessant attacks by the dreaded Boko Haram
sect, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.- Gen. Kenneth Minimah, has
revealed that some soldiers have abandoned the force due to
the fear of the terrorists group Boko Haram.
Minimah, who made this revelation during a working tour of
Lagos and its environs yesterday said: “ Sometimes, journalists
ask me questions, saying soldiers are deserting their jobs
because they don’t want to be killed in the North East. I tell
them yes, it is true. Desertion is part of war".
"A real soldier is known when he is put in the warfront. The one
who is not a soldier would run away and abandon his job. Our
soldiers are recruited from the Nigerian society and, today, most
people are not called to be soldiers, they joined because they
are desperately in need of jobs."
“As long as there is war, there would continue to be desertion
and there would continue to be recruitment. Since Alexander
The Great, soldiers have been deserting. In the Second World
War, there was desertion and even in the Nigeria Civil War,
people deserted. It is only in peacetime that you don’t see
people deserting. But those who volunteer to fight and defend
their nation do not desert; they fight until there is victory.”
Lt.-Gen. Minimah, who condemned the actions of some soldiers
deserting the Force for fear of engaging in a fight with the
terrorist group Boko Haram, said such actions by the soldiers
vividly showed that they joined the force for the wrong reasons.
Meanwhile, Minimah in a new communiqué issued through the
Defence Headquarters on July 19 said: “ The rising acts of
indiscipline and unprofessional conduct by troops was
unbecoming and charged Commanders at all levels to put a stop
to it as the Nigerian Army was a professional organization.”
Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah has, however, revealed that his men
will not stop fighting till they overcome and conquer the war
against insurgency and terrorism .
According to Minimah: "The upsurge in incidents of terrorism
has shifted the focus of the general public to the Armed Forces,
particularly the Nigerian Army" .
The Nigerian Army have over the past months been under
serious attacks by the Boko Haram sect with some of the
soldiers killed, while others injured.
On July 19, it was reported that the soldiers had reportedly
deserted Damboa following several attacks on the military base
by the dreaded Boko Haram sect as attempts by soldiers to
return to Damboa military base are said to have failed.
The insurgents took over the highway and continued to engage
soldiers in ambush attacks which have forced them to return to
Maiduguri on two occasions.