Obasanjo says Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram has become ‘an industry’
Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, has criticised the country’s prolonged battle against Boko Haram and other insurgencies, claiming the conflict has dragged on so long that it has become “an industry” benefiting certain actors within and outside government.
Speaking on Sunday during a live-streamed session of the Toyin Falola Interviews, Obasanjo highlighted that the 15-year-long Boko Haram insurgency has now outlasted the 30-month Nigerian Civil War, despite the country’s heavy expenditure on defence and counter-terror operations.
The discussion featured Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese and former CBN Deputy Governor Kingsley Moghalu, who also weighed in on the nation’s worsening security situation.
Obasanjo argued that Nigeria’s leadership has repeatedly failed to adopt a precise mix of modern counterinsurgency tools — including training, intelligence, technology, and specialised equipment — insisting that conventional military methods are insufficient against a dispersed and embedded terror network.
“The military is trained for conventional war. If the people you are dealing with are fleeing targets or living among your people, you will need different types of training,” he said. “Among the countries that have done that fairly successfully is Colombia. Should we invite them? There is no shame in that.”
The former Head of State, who successfully quelled Niger Delta militancy during his tenure, also suggested that cases of collusion and internal sabotage have hindered the fight against insurgency. “The whole thing is an industry. It is an industry,” he declared. “Then you ask the military to be the ones buying equipment. It is not done. There is training, equipment, intelligence, and technology. These four must work together.”
Obasanjo warned that Nigeria cannot defeat terrorism if foreign partners remain reluctant to share critical intelligence due to persistent leaks, compromised officers, and infiltration within the military.
He recounted his backchannel efforts in 2011, revealing that Boko Haram initially rejected government negotiations but later agreed to a 21-day ceasefire — a diplomatic opportunity that Nigerian authorities failed to leverage. “They agreed to 21 days of ceasefire to negotiate. Government failed to reach out,” he said.
Since 2009, Nigeria has spent trillions of naira on counterterrorism, yet attacks by insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers continue across the North-West and North-East, leaving rural communities vulnerable to ransom-driven violence.
