Nigerian Military Not Combat Ready - Army Chiefs, Emergency Rule In North-East May Not Be Renewed - Senate

The Nigerian military we understand have requested for the continuation of the emergency rule in the three North-eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, but fillers has it that the Nigerian Senate may not buy into their request.

This was the fallout of an eight-hour closed-door meeting held between the service chiefs and the Senate last Tuesday, according to thisdaylive.com. The permit for state of emergency rule expired November 20. The Senate had summoned the service chiefs to brief it on the state of security in the three North-east states  which had been under emergency rule since May 2013 until the rule eventually expired 10 days ago.

 

The major opposition to this request is thought to be the hard stand by the senators from the north who seems to oppose anything from Jonathan arguing that emergency rule has never worked in the first place.
 

The non-renewal of the state of emergency in the said states followed senators' inability to agree on the need and essence of further extension.  The service chiefs during the eight-hour closed-door meeting had implored them to allow the emergency rule which expired on November 20 to continue, saying it would enhance the war against terrorism.

 The implication of this hard stance according to thisdaylive.com, is that any fresh proclamation of emergency rule following the last expiration on November 20 by  President Goodluck Jonathan will still meet a brick wall if such request is sent afresh to the Senate.

The source further disclosed that the briefing by the service chiefs opened their eyes to the reason the anti-terror war had not been effective. According to him, they got to know that the morale of soldiers was currently at its lowest ebb, adding that the soldiers were not combat-ready neither were they psychologically prepared to fight.

He further explained that as a result of the lack of commitment on the part of Nigerian soldiers, they are not ready to confront the terrorists head on, regretting that instead, Nigerian soldiers go into hiding in the face of anti-terror war.

"The morale of the soldiers is low. They are not combat ready. They are not psychologically ready. Soldiers are running away from battle. There is no agreement among them. There is no commitment. We don't have military any longer," he lamented, THISDAYLIVE reports.