By Kingston Magare 7.2.2026
Major General Ijioma N. Ijioma (rtd), has accused the Nigerian political class of lacking the will to the fight insurgency and criminal gangs wrecking havoc in the country.
According to Major General Ijioma
a former Director of Operations at the Army Headquarters, once the politicians show the will and the urgency the army would be ready to fight the terror gangs to submission. He alluded that had the Federal government handled the Biafra crisis in 1966 with such levity there would have been a Biafra Republic today.
He said Nigeria shouldn’t hope on the US who recently sent in a small contingent of troops to fight its battles.
“The strike the US carried out in Sokoto and Kwara, is there anywhere our fighter jets could not have bombed? “There is no place within Nigeria that our aircraft cannot reach. The reason they haven’t done the needful tells you clearly that what we lack is political will,” Major General Ijioma told Vanguard in an interview.
“Fighter jets went to Benin Republic. Our troops physically went there on the President’s order. What does that tell you? It tells you there is no political will.
“The US troops are not going to deploy on the battlefield to fight Nigeria’s war. Whether we like it or not, the responsibility of eliminating militants rests with the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“The role of US troops would be limited to training, intelligence, and logistical support. They are only going to collaborate with Nigerian troops in terms of training, intelligence and technical support.”
He noted the US had sent troops to Nigeria during the time of President Olusegun Obasanjo, but it did not go down well.
“At that time, the third floor of the Defense Headquarters was out of bounds to Nigerian officers. The Americans visited all troop locations, mapped Nigerian barracks and equipment holdings. This was strongly opposed by the then Chief of Army Staff, late Gen. Victor Malu, who believed they had no business doing that. That disagreement led to his removal.”