10 things Buhari needs to do now following the death of Idris Deby

Ayo Akinfe

(1) As the former Chadian president was Boko Haram’s most formidable adversary, the vacuum needs to be filled with an intensified military presence in the Lake Chad Basin or we will end up with another Afghanistan on our hands. I await a Blitzkreig operation over the next few weeks

(2) I think it is time to expand the Lake Chad Basin Force into a fully fledged Ecomog Army of about 20,000 men

(3) Borno and Yobe states each need a mechanised division of the Nigerian Army of 10,000 troops

(4) The Nigerian Navy needs to established a Lake Chad Naval Command fully equipped with speed boats, amphibious troops and heavy guns

(5) We need a dedicated anti-terrorist Nigerian Air Force base established in Borno State

(6) The Nigerian military fighting in the northeast needs to be decentralised with each division having its own independent air, naval and infantry capacity

(7) We desperately need a special commando division or at least battalion trained and equipped up to the competence levels of say the US Seals, the British SAS or the French Commandoes

(8) If we are serious about equipping our troops, one of the first things we need to do is start manufacturing our own hardware. It is naive to think that we will get the equipment we want, when we want it, in the quantities we desire and at the price we can afford by relying on the open market

(9) We need to start a massive hearts and minds campaign in the northeast, dropping leaflets in every village. Ordinary people need to know they are safe if they offer the Nigerian military intelligence

(10) Why has nobody started offering local people tips on how to frustrate Boko Haram. People should be trained on acts on acts of sabotage like blowing up bridges, poisoning their wells, blocking roads, adulterating their petrol etc