FEMI ADEOTI COLUMN,
Error bombing has not only come to stay. It has secured a safe place in our space. It’s living comfortably with us. Having its good times, while we have its bad side. We have practically lost count.
We can’t keep up with its stride. It’s like that of light. Very striking! We need to address this squarely. We must be collective and connected and throw our hearts into it. We need a robust and holistic discourse on it lest it consumes us inadvertently.
Now we are getting to its embarrassing climax. The demeaning and humiliating zenith. It was tragic and calamitous. The way we decided to end 2024 in disastrous mistakes. We have not learnt the ropes enough. We refuse to pick useful lessons from our past blunders. We keep on stumbling, faltering, floundering, fumbling, unending. We are determined not to get it right.
Methinks error airstrike ought not to be this rampant. It ought to occur sparingly. It shouldn’t have been our way of life. Here, we have turned it upside down such that it must happen. Stranger than fiction!
Collateral damage in war situations is a global phenomenon. However, in saner climes, it rarely happens. They strive to make casualties minimal. Error bombing is not. The losses are usually on the high side. Unfortunately, we choose that to be our lot.
It was a Christmas Day bombing. And Sokoto, the heartbeat of the Caliphate, was unlucky. It was unfortunately selected for it to happen. That made it disdainful, disgusting. It was strategic, save for it missed target. That turned out to be a grave error.
And 10 civilians went with the wild, weird, wind. The airstrike was genuinely meant for the Lakurawa terrorist group. That is the emerging face of terrorism. And North West is the epicentre.
With good intentions, so we want to believe. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) carried the battle to Lakurawa’s enclaves in Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa communities, Silame Local Government. But when the dust settled. It was a completely different story. We were confronted with sordid reality.
Barely two weeks after, January 11, 2025, NAF’s missed bombing came calling. Again! It followed the same old, odd, shameful manner of carelessness. Precision bombing was never in their books.
The Punch screamed: “No fewer than 16 vigilantes were reportedly killed in an airstrike in Kakindawa village, Maradun Local Government, Zamfara State.”
Then the “usual” rapidly trailed it. It was taken for granted. It fitted into its template: uproar, outcry, outrage, furore. And their cousins, commotion, pandemonium, hue and cry!
A devastated local, Garba Umar, painted this gory picture: “The bandits went to Tungar Kara village and attempted to rustle animals and kidnap the inhabitants. When we received the information, we mobilised our vigilante group and headed to the village to assist.
“Unfortunately, as the vigilante group was about to reach the village, an aircraft suddenly appeared and dropped a bomb on them (3: 30 p.m), even though the bandits had already escaped into the forest. We counted 16 people killed in the bombardment, including my son.”
But NAF spokesman, Air Vice Marshal Olusola Akinboyewa, thought otherwise. He didn’t see the civilian casualties that the locals saw and counted. His narrative was poles apart from Umar’s. He saw huge success in the operation. And he flaunted it:
“The operation was meticulously executed, with real-time coordination from an intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance platform overhead, ensuring accurate target correlation. The identified targets were swiftly engaged using rockets and cannons in multiple passes, delivering devastating blows to the enemy.”
He raved on: “The aircrew maintained visual and radio contact with the ground troops. The bandits were observed fleeing eastward of the hill, prompting further engagements that successfully neutralised additional targets.”
Akinboyewa remained undaunted. He felt on top of his peculiar world: “This resounding success has been met with widespread celebrations from locals in Zamfara State, who expressed relief and gratitude for the operation’s positive impact.”
We were at a crossroadsW we find it extremely hard to trust the NAF spokesman. And the message was not lost on General Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). He was forced to intervene:
“Before we conduct any airstrike, we follow up on movements. When we do airstrikes, we do it with precision.” Really?
He explored a grey area: “We cannot rule out a secondary explosion. Within areas, they (terrorists) have weapons, they have bombs, ammunition and explosives that they keep there. So, sometimes if it goes up, you cannot rule out the aspect that civilians might be affected.”
He turned affirmative and emphatic: “We do not deliberately target the civilian population, we avoid it as much as possible. We have videos that we follow up before any strike is conducted.”
Suddenly, the CDS appeared confused. And he threw this at us: “Why is it that while we are succeeding, that’s when you keep on hearing this accidental airstrike here and there? I think this is just a way of demoralising the troops, demoralising our air force and making it look as if we don’t know what we’re doing.”
He opened another facet: “Most times, when they say there is any airstrike, before you go there, they tell you they buried the people.” He raised a query: “Why not wait and then let’s also come and verify these issues?”
This revelation deserves urgent attention. We have to be swift about it: “What were the terrorists doing in the past? They used to capture communities and then forced men, especially adults, in to join them, whether they liked it or not. If you refused, they beheaded you, so you had no choice.”
That was then. The terrorists have stepped up. They are way ahead of time and season. The CDS let us into their new world:
“But now that it became difficult, that they don’t have any territory, they don’t have a means of doing that, they decided to start impregnating the women repeatedly.”
Sampler: “If a woman gives birth, four months after, they impregnate her again. They are trying to produce a new set of terrorists.”
He saw deadly horror ahead. And he raised the alarm: “Such children will be more brutal and perpetrate heinous crimes than their parents if not tamed.” Absolutely absolute!
CDS lay bare his incontrovertible evidence: “Over 120,000 terrorists surrendered. Out of this number, over 60,000 are children.” Implication: More terror waiting to be unleashed on us.
This General is not done yet. He is digging deep. Unearthing the absurd, the unthinkable. He exposed some non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
It will shock you: “We have had allegations of them conveying arms to make sure the war continues. They would tell you they were taking food to the communities.
“Halfway they would tell you the trailer had broken down. Next morning, the trailer would be empty. And that trailer that broke down, the driver would just go there and drive back. So, what had happened? They have funded those guys.”
Imagine the enormity of the crisis we have at hand! And we are still treating it with levity.
Since error bombing sauntered into our lives. It has become our albatross. Every occurrence triggered claims, counter-claims, accusations, counter-accusations, blame-game, brickbats and throwbacks.
We should be intentionally deliberate. And de-emphasis the bickering. They are the shenanigans we don’t need. They are neither useful nor necessary.
Even in the face of all this. Our predicaments mount in leaps and bounds. Terrorists have upped the tempo. This is not melodious to the ear and not pleasing to the eye.
Terrorism made a comeback to Borno State last Sunday. It was devastated. It’s not pleasant in any way. It shattered, rubbished whatever gains claimed to be made in time past.
Dumba in Kukawa Local Government was the theatre of the setback. A huge drawback. The terrorists hit hard at exactly 4:30 pm. Again, with damning accuracy. At least, 40 farmers were cut down. Locals insisted the terrorists were of Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province.
What a way to return! This came barely 24 hours after two people were killed. A church was set ablaze in a similar attack on Chibok.
Now. Let’s take it as given. That the CDS knows his onions and the taste. But we are worried. And our fears are genuine. Why? The onions are certainly not tasting well.
Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, et al, have come to stay. They have collectively become a very lucrative sub-sector of our fragile economy. That’s the stark reality; our absurd new normal.
We are upset with the missed bombing. It is erratic. We keep on doing the same thing. Giving the same odd excuses. And telling the same old story. Aren’t we ashamed just for once?
The civilian population has a vital role to play. They know the camps and operation bases of these terrorists. They should stay away from such areas. And report the activities of these terrorists. They can be easily identified. They are the strange faces in their midst.
But when asked, is this going to end? The CDS nearly put a big spanner in our works. He instantly reframed and posted: “Maybe I should ask, when is criminality going to end?
“It is something we have to live with. The truth is that this is the new world order. It is everywhere. In America, how many killings are going on? It’s all acts of terrorism.
“It’s going to be in every country. It is your ability to mitigate it. To deal with it in such a way that it does not affect the normal lives of the people.”
Have we proved all these years that we possess such ability to mitigate terrorism? The General cleverly avoided asking this question. Talk less of answering it.
Instead, he opted to drop these final words: “Acts of criminality will continue. That is for sure!” We were thrown off-balance. We were frightening!
The confidence, encouragement we dearly thirst for. He failed to give.
General Musa left us confused, hopeless, perplexed and bewildered. Even more than ever before.
Help! We’re trapped. Rampant, erratic error bombings our lots.
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