Modern warfare requires efficient and effective management of information because victory is not possible without it. Winston Churchill, Britain’s cerebral war- time Prime Minister, knew he could only defeat Hitler through deception and knowledge about the plans of the German war machine and it worked. So it became imperative to intercept and decode German military communications, track military build ups and ship movements, and stay a step ahead of the Nazi quest to dominate the world. Churchill decided to build a secret intelligence service that can do the job through “stealth ,brain and brawn”. Churchill told fellow allied leaders during the second world war that “truth is so precious that it should be guarded by a bodyguard of lies”.
This comment underscores the importance of information as a weapon of war, for deception to score an advantage over the enemy or as a means of guiding your troops to take the right action, using the right equipment or striking at the right moment. If given accurate information, whether it is on the weather, position of airfields, enemy troops concentration or troop movements , field commanders would know how to maximize or optimize resources available to them and deploy their troops to accomplish the mission with limited loss of life or equipment. What is also critical is proper exercise of discretion or gumption. Information cannot be thrown around carelessly. A commander should survive and accomplish his mission first. His experience can be made public only in his memoirs or if and when authorized. To complain is good but better if it done through the proper channel.
War is driven by knowledge, and management of information is critical to its outcome because even the enemy is listening and watching. The wrong message could mean life or death. We have been fighting the Boko Haram insurgency and sundry outlaws for almost ten years without being able to defeat them. The war has reportedly become a cottage industry or personal cocoa farm of the military brass. We’ve been repeatedly lied to that the Boko Haram terrorists have been defeated. Commanders have been appointed and replaced every now and then as if there is no solid plan. Billions have reportedly been sunk into the campaign without much to show for it. The only thing we know is that, more than two million people have been displaced, with over 20,000 (twenty thousand) people killed since the insurgency started. YES, we have not defeated them. If Major General Olusegun Adeniyi’s alleged comment about operation Lafia Dole said to be trending on the social media was unauthorised, not properly channeled or inappropriate, it should be viewed within the context of a failing military campaign. It should be seen as an appreciation of the challenges the commander faced given overwhelming odds. He has seen his soldiers died unnecessarily while Nigerians are made to believe that the war would be over in a few weeks. General Adeniyi’s back was to the wall and he had to cry out. I believe he should have followed the proper channel. He didn’t so it is right to redeploy him. He should be cautioned but more importantly, he should be listened to.
We live in the information age where there is a thin line between what is true or false. Errors, carelessness or mistakes are not acceptable and costly in war. I was outraged the other day when I saw an online video of troops in Nigeria Military uniforms hailing Chadian soldiers for rescuing them. Praising the Chadians in Nigerian pidgin English and Hausa, and commenting on the quality of their arms- tanks, artillery, armoured personnel carrier etc.( I could not confirm if it was a recent video). The impression I got however, is that our troops need to be better kitted, armed and fed with the right information and appropriate technology so they can be better motivated to discharge their duties. No commander would be happy to see his troops slaughtered because they were not properly equipped or given wrong information whether deliberately(by enemy agents)or in error, to defend themselves or take the battle to the terrorists.
The military authority should review our entire military operations and doctrine dispassionately and act on complaints from commanders in the frontline. The recent loses (about 75 officers and soldiers )suffered by our troops during operations against Boko Haram and other outlaws are unacceptably too high to be ignored or tolerated. There should be a thorough investigation and appropriate sanctions where necessary. The allegations that Boko Haram insurgents are given advance information about the movement of our troops have become too common to be ignored or not to be believed. The communities where they serve have also been accused of collaborating with the enemy.
The state governments affected and the military ought to sensitize the communities first about the mission, their cooperation sought and obtained before troops are deployed. Thereafter, anybody caught collaborating with the insurgents should be punished severely to serve as a deterrent to others. Those who support the military should be rewarded. There is a clear need to change tactics and strategies. The enemy within must be dealt with first for us to defeat the insurgents. Perhaps more than any time, it is self- evident that the service chiefs should do the right thing now, turn in their uniforms and walk, since the President has ignored all entreaties to sack or retire them. They are not indispensable. The chiefs deserve the nation’s gratitude for their past services . They should have the honour of a decent retirement to share more time with their families. There is life outside the barracks. The service chiefs should go now or be kicked out.
NB: Abdul Oroh is a former House of Representatives member, served as Commissioner for Information, and later, Agriculture in Edo State. A former Executive director of Civil Liberties Organization(CLO), lawyer and journalist, Oroh is a member of The New Diplomat’s Advisory Board.
