By Agaju Madugba

Kaduna—Former Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lieutenant-General Alani Akinrinade, has said that Nigerians may have to contend with the Boko Haram menace for some more time because, according to him, the nation’s Armed Forces are not capable of combating the insurgency.

He said that fighting the Boko Haram was fighting a guerilla warfare which had never been addressed by any military doctrine, hence his fears about the ability of the military to prosecute the war successfully.

Akirinade spoke at a seminar on ‘’Africa’s Big Five: Power and Influence in Africa,’’ in Kaduna yesterday,  against the backdrop of the relocation of Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters to Borno state, to fight the Boko Haram insurgents few days ago.

General Alani Akinrinade

“So, I am aware that military solution is not going to be the end of Boko Haram,” Akinrinade said.

The former COAS, was the chairman at the programme, organised by the Gusau Institute, owned by former Minister of Defence, Gen. Mohammed Ibrahim Gusau.

His words, “I am not aware of any military doctrine that has addressed effectively guerilla warfare, which is easier .

“But this kind of insurrection we are now having in our hands have never been addressed by any military doctrine successfully.

“Let me say a word or two again about Boko Haram. I have heard a lot of discussions about Boko Haram from many people .

“I must say that I am lost about the causes of Boko Haram and I am sure most of our country men are also lost. I want to charge this Institute to take this matter very seriously.

“So, the ball is in the court of politicians, economists and those who have human sympathy that could bring solution to this crisis.

“We have all agreed to treat constitutional issues and maintain federal character but it has been bastardised with corruption that has taken over the Constitution .

“We fought the civil war to keep this country and we must honour our founding fathers because they bestowed a befitting country to us.

“We did what we did because the situation at that time dictated it so.”

Also speaking at the programme, security and economy experts predicted that Nigeria will be the leading nation for the transformation of Africa in the next 25 years.

They explained that the prediction is based on the parameters of her development and growth indices.

The lead Guest Lecturer who is Coordinator of the Institute for Security Studies, South Africa, Dr. Jakkie Cilliers, said that, “to a large extent, the increase in Africa’s role globally will be driven by the future weight of Nigeria because South Africa that would have posed serious challenge to Nigeria is caught in a middle-income trap.”