Don’t lose equipment, territory to Boko Haram, Nicholas charges troops

The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj-Gen Rogers Nicholas, has charged troops fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast not to lose any equipment, territory and respect to the terrorists.

He gave the charge at the weekend while addressing troops of 22 Armoured Brigade, Dikwa and 112 Task Force Battalion, Mafa in Borno State during his familiarization tour of military formations.

Gen. Nicholas said Boko Haram members should freeze on seeing any soldier and officer of the Nigerian Army in the Sambisa forest front lines and insurgency-affected Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

“We have been all over the world and highly rated. Untrained Boko Haram insurgents can never continue to be a threat to us.

“We have been losing our equipment and men to Boko Haram, I cannot tolerate this. We must go out to this people once and for all and show them the might of the Nigerian military. We must make sure we defend this nation with the last drop of our blood.

“We must not lose anything to these insurgents again. We have no other country but Nigeria and we must fight for it,” the commander said.

Gen. Nicholas who threatened to punish any officer that did not take the task seriously, said: “There is no bad soldier, but bad officer. The officers should be seen to be very close to their soldiers. They must be ready to go into the trenches with them. You must be seen to
be responsible to the soldiers.”

On how to end the insurgency, he said:  “You must be seen to be commanding properly. The junior commanders should always lead their men well, and to do this you must always be seen to have interest in them”

The commander promised to ensure that the troops have wonderful yuletide. He however said if the troops wanted to have the comfort of their homes, they should first finish with the operation soon so that they can go home and be with their families.