Nigerian Soldiers Needs Spiritual Efforts To Defeat Boko Haram

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai says that the Nigerian Army needs spiritual effort in eradicating the ideologies fueling insurgency in the country, noting that the scourge cannot be eliminated alone by the military.

Buratai stated this at the opening of the Spiritual Warfare Seminar organized by the Nigerian Army Directorate of Chaplain Services Roman Catholic, Protestant and Directorate of Islamic Affairs in Abuja on Monday, September 30, 2019.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the seminar is “Countering Insurgency and Violent Extremism in Nigerian Through Spiritual Warfare”.

Represented by the Chief of Army Administration, Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Yusuf, Tukur Buratai urged Islamic and Christian clerics across the Army formations to join in the forefront for spiritual battle against terrorism, and reorient the people against negative ideologies.

“It is easier to defeat Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists than their ideology because, while we degrade the terrorists and their havens, the narrative of the ideology grows the group,” Buratai said.

“Therefore, communities, families, and groups should join in the fight and narratives to reject and prevent the ideologies of the terrorists and extremist groups.

“Religious bodies and organisations in particular who interface regularly with the grassroots should be at the forefront of this spiritual battle and fashion out ways of stepping up their roles.

“The fight against terrorism, Boko Haram and ISWAP, as well as other security threats, cannot be left to the troops in the battle field alone.

“Yes, we will do our duties, but the need to tackle groups through spiritual warfare and re-orientating the followers against the ideology is also a necessity.

“It is a well-known fact that terrorism and terrorist groups cannot be totally eliminated by mainly military actions.

“This means focusing our efforts on the underlying narratives through ideologies that are employed by these terrorists to lure innocent citizens to their fold.

“The need to defeat the ideologies of Boko Haram and ISWAP is based on the awareness that it is the ideologies that enhance their resources and help to recruit new fighters to their fold and as such; kill their ideology and the terrorist movement withers and dies.”

The Army chief added that religious leaders and clerics who regularly interface with members of the society must “fashion out ways of stepping up [their] roles, remembering that the fight against terrorism is a collective responsibility.”