Guardian

SIR: The Nigerian people, government, Muslims, Christians and press must stand by the nation’s military and intelligence as they seek to put an end to the carnage and de-civilisation being engineered, driven and executed by terrorists. These fundamentalists known as Boko Haram have overseen the death of thousands of persons and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.

However, I send my condolence to the family and friends of the innocent ones who lost their lives to the armed confrontations in Baga and elsewhere in the attempt to clear every trace of terrorism from our environment. There is war in Nigeria, at least in Northern Nigeria and the earlier we recognise that, the better for us.

Nevertheless, these elements can be surmounted. Bringing an end to this hegemony of evil and suicidal violence requires a holistic and strategic approach based on the principles of Military Science as it applies to asymmetrical warfare. The war on terror falls under a category known as Asymmetrical Warfare and its rules of engagement is strategically different from a symmetrical/conventional one. It gradually becomes impossible to distinguish between the enemy combatants and the innocent civilians around them, especially when they are used as human shields. It is in the light of the above that George W. Bush in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, made the following declaration: “Make no mistakes; we shall make no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbour them”. What is required at this stage is an endgame strategy.

I feel pained that what could have been celebrated as a milestone and landmark military achievement against the terrorists is being stigmatised to the extent that the government of Nigeria is being blackmailed to disown it. I salute the courage of the commander and men of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) for the extra-ordinary feat they achieved in Baga by smoking out the terrorists from their camp and taking over their arsenal.

Those who genuinely want an end to this barbarism should support the military in the effort to end terrorism. You cannot be crying that government is not doing enough on security and cry foul when they go tough on the criminals. Those who do so are most likely terrorist sympathizers. The press should be more strategic in the way they do their work as it has larger implications for whether we preserve modernity by winning the war on terror or succumb to medievalism as represented by Boko Haram. The choice is ours.

• Mark Olise,

Benin City, Edo State.