There is a constant, deep-seated doubt that often greets news of “repentant” insurgents being processed through Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC). To the casual observer perhaps one mourning a loved one or witnessing the economic scars of a decade-long conflict, it can appear as though the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) have developed an inexplicable preference for rehabilitation over retribution.
This dangerous narrative, which suggests the military leadership is disconnected from the pain of the populace, must be thrown in the gutters. We must remember that members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria are also Nigerians. They have families in the very states being ravaged, and they also bury their own colleagues. No one is more invested in the “business” of securing this nation than the soldier in the trench.
To suggest they prefer rehabilitation out of some misplaced sympathy for the enemy ignores the fact that they are the ones who have paid the highest price in blood.
Why, then, do we bother with rehabilitation? Because war, especially one fought against an ideology, is not just a body-count competition. For every insurgent killed in battle, there is the risk of a vengeful younger brother or a radicalized son taking his place.
Make no mistake, the Nigerian military has not “gone soft.” Recent major kinetic wins across the Northeast and Northwest theaters tell a story of relentless aggression. From the targeted elimination of high-ranking ISWAP commanders to the dismantling of entrenched bandit enclaves in the Northwest, Northcentral, and Northeastern forests, the AFN has significantly increased its “kill-and-capture” tempo.
A careful examination of recent press releases and even recent Q&A engagements by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on X alongside the brutal efficiency of kinetic operations, reveals a different story.
It is not a choice between the sword and the olive branch, it is the strategic, simultaneous use of both to bring a decisive and sustainable end to insurgency.
The logic is simple, you cannot negotiate with an adversary that believes it is winning. Kinetic operations, which include the hard power of airstrikes, ground assaults, and long-range patrols, are designed to degrade the enemy’s capacity to the point of collapse.
This pressure is what forces the “surrender” that feeds the non-kinetic pipeline. Without the fear of the Nigerian soldier’s rifle, the gates of Operation Safe Corridor would remain empty.
Insecurity in Nigeria is a hydra-headed monster. It affects our food security, our education, our economy, and our psychological well-being. Therefore, it is necessary to attack it from every angle. It is a strategic fallacy to believe that a complex insurgency can be solved by bullets alone, just as it is a delusion to think it can be solved by dialogue alone.
Every surrender is one less combatant to fight, one less landmine to clear, and one less ambush to survive. The war is being won not just on the battlefield, but in the minds of those who have realized that the Nigerian state is both too strong to be defeated and too resilient to be broken.
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