According to a report by Reuters, Chadian military
officers, who are part of the West African Joint Military
Task Force to fight Boko Haram, are complaining that
the Nigerian government is stalling their operations to
assist in fighting Boko Haram in Nigeria.
According to the report, Nigerian military officers
recently rebuffed the offer of the Chadian soldiers to
join in the mission to recapture Baga and other towns.
When battle-hardened Chadian troops overran a Boko
Haram camp in northern Nigeria last week, they wanted
to press deep into territory controlled by the Islamist
group but Nigeria refused to let them.
Having defeated al Qaeda in Mali two years ago, Chad's
military believes it could could finish off Boko Haram
alone.
It has notched up victories that have pushed the
Nigerian militants back from the Cameroonian border.
But with presidential elections this month, Nigeria is
keen to press ahead with its own military campaign
against Boko Haram, aiming to push it out of major
towns before the March 28 ballot.
In a country proud to be a major African power, it
would be an embarrassment to President Goodluck
Jonathan as he seeks reelection for a smaller nation to
tackle Nigeria's security problems, diplomats say.
In their forward base in the town of Gambaru on the
Nigeria-Cameroon border, Chadian soldiers displayed
dozens of guns seized from Boko Haram and a burnt-
out armoured vehicle painted with black and white
Arabic script.
"We turned back because Nigeria did not authorise us
to go any further," army spokesman Colonel Azem
Bermandoa said.
Nigeria's spokesman for operations in the northeast,
Mike Omeri, said cooperation between Chadian and
Nigerian forces has brought some major military
successes and any issues would be resolved via existing
command structures.
But the Chadians say there have been no joint
operations between the two forces.
Chad's offer to join a Nigerian offensive to capture Baga,
site of one of Boko Haram's worst atrocities in January,
was rebuffed, Bermandoa said.
Officials from Chad, Niger and Cameroon say lack of
cooperation from Nigeria has for months hampered
efforts to put together a regional taskforce against Boko
Haram.
Chad was compelled to take unilateral action in
January, under a deal that allows it to pursue terrorists
into Nigeria, after Boko Haram violence started to choke
off imports to its economy.
With Niger and Cameroon deploying thousands of
troops on their borders, blocking escape routes for Boko
Haram, the tide may be turning. In what Nigeria has
branded a sign of desperation, the Islamist group has
carried out wave of suicide attacks and threatened to
disrupt the election.
Francois Conradie, analyst with South African-based
NKC Research, said that if the current offensive can be
sustained, Boko Haram could quickly be driven out of
the remaining towns it holds. It would, however,
remain a deadly rural guerrilla force.
"All of this is good news for stability and will probably
be to Mr Jonathan's electoral advantage," he said.
OPPOSITION CRITICISES RELIANCE ON CHAD
Many in Nigeria ask why it took so long to act. Boko
Haram killed thousands last year and kidnapped many
more in its six-year campaign for an Islamist emirate in
Africa's largest oil producer.
Niger, Cameroon and Chad say Nigeria neglected the
uprising in its economically backward northeast, an
opposition stronghold. Borno state is home to two
percent of Nigeria's 170 million people.
But in recent months, Muhammadu Buhari, a former
military ruler who is running as the presidential
candidate for the opposition All Progressives Congress
(APC), has gained popularity with voters desperate for
tough policies both on corruption and Boko Haram.
Amid pressure from the ruling People's Democratic
Party (PDP), Nigeria's electoral commission announced a
six week postponement to the Feb. 14 election, to allow
the army to tackle the security situation in the
northeast so voting could go ahead there.
Ernst Hogendoorn, Crisis Group's Africa deputy
programme director, said the government appeared to
have engineered the delay in the hope the APC would
slip up or the military could boost Jonathan by defeating
Boko Haram.
"Boko Haram has certainly suffered a strategic setback
… Clearly this improves Goodluck Jonathan's chances
somewhat," said Hogendoorn. "The question is do any of
these forces have the ability to maintain this tempo,
particularly the Chadians and to a lesser degree the
Nigerians?"
With Chad already squeezed by a slump in the price of
oil, its main export, the government says it can only
sustain the offensive in Nigeria for a short time,
diplomats say.
Buhari, however, has already criticised Jonathan for
relying on Chad to push back Boko Haram, saying his
government would tackle the problem alone.
Many in the military and the government are keen to
limit foreign involvement on Nigerian soil, diplomats
say.
When Chadian forces last month entered the town of
Dikwa, they were told to leave by Nigeria's military,
which said it was planning air strikes, Bermondoa said.
After Nigeria's army retook Baga last month, Army
Chief Major General Kenneth Minimah said his soldiers
would recapture a handful of remaining towns before
the elections, listing Dikwa as one of them. "The war is
almost ended," he said.
TENSIONS HAMPER REGIONAL FORCE
Boko Haram was long regarded by neighbouring
countries as an internal Nigerian problem, but attacks
in Cameroon and Niger last year prompted the regional
response.
Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Benin and Cameroon agreed in
May to join forces against the militants.
Since then, however, distrust and misunderstandings
have stymied preparations for the force, due to take
effect by the end of this month.
Nigeria initially sent low-level representatives to
planning meetings, angering its allies.
Cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria has been
dogged by long-running border tensions, while Niger
accused Nigerian troops of cowardice.
"Nigeria must get involved and honour its promise of
providing between 2,500 and 3,000 to the multinational
force," said Cameroon's defence spokesman Colonel
Didier Badjeck.
Cameroon has stepped up its activities since July, when
Boko Haram attacked Kolotafa, the hometown of its
deputy prime minister, killing dozens and kidnapping
his wife.
The government has boosted its security forces in
northern Cameroon from 700 to around 7,000.
"We have to do whatever it takes to make sure the sect
does not occupy any town in Cameroon," said Colonel
Joseph Nouma, in charge of Operation Alpha, the
mission against Boko Haram.
However, Nouma said he has orders not to enter
Nigeria, and Cameroon has denied Nigerian troops the
right to pursue insurgents into Cameroon.
Along its 400 km (250 miles) border with Nigeria,
Cameroon has created 14 new bases, with heavy
artillery batteries. It has also deployed surveillance
drones, a senior intelligence officer said.
Another senior Cameroon military figure said they were
attempting to choke off Boko Haram's revenues,
including the trade in fuel with Cameroon, Chad and
Niger.
"All of this looks to be paying off," the officer said, with
no incursions since mid-February.
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