A private military company (PMC) was needed to fight Boko Haram because the Nigerian military was not properly trained to deal with such a deadly foe. In 2014, 219 school girls were abducted by Boko Haram. The US and the UK had the location of the girls but did not deliver the information to the Nigerian Government and military as they believed that the Nigerian military was an ill fit for the operation at hand (Barlow). Their beliefs were confirmed because they lacked battlefield intelligence and the training to fight against Boko Haram (Barlow). Their lack of training comes from the fact that they canceled their military training with the US military around the time Boko Haram captured the school girls, further adding to their weakness as a defense force (Stein). This is what prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to quietly hire a PMC, which is essentially a private army for hire to provide armed combat or security services, to properly handle the situation at hand (Freeman).
This choice to hire a PMC rather than request assistance from other countries comes from the fact that the Nigerian military is demoralized, poorly equipped and rampant with corruption (McGregor). The Nigerian government hired a PMC named Specialised Tasks, Training, Equipment, and Protection International (STTEP). This company was founded in 2006 and originated from a previous group named Executive Outcomes (Freeman). STTEP proved to be very influential in the fight against Boko Haram as they drove them out using a technique similar to that of Boko Haram where they use hit and run tactics similar to those used by Boko Haram alongside relentlessly pursuing their target (Freeman). After they have driven them out and get them on the run they would track their movements and plan accordingly to cut off their escape routes (Freeman). They also keep a low profile while operating which allows them to operate out of public view and out of foreign governments views. (Isenberg). These factors are what made STTEP even more effective than the Nigerian military.
In the end hiring a private military company to aid the failing Nigerian army helped at the time to push Boko Haram back, however after their contract expired, their presence is still needed as the army has fallen back into its slump which is similar to when they were first given the orders to re-capture the school girls letting Boko Haram grain more ground. There is not one singular fix to ride Nigeria of Boko Haram because if they were to be destroyed, the ideals will always persist, but if Nigeria plans on pushing them back, they should learn from the past and sufficiently train their army to finally gain peace.
Works Cited Bayley, Bruno. “What Does Nigeria's Use of Private Military Companies Against Boko Haram Mean for the World?” VICE, 16 Feb. 2016, 7:30 am, www.vice.com/en_us/article/exqe9z/nigeria-pmcs-boko-harem. “Leash the Dogs of War.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 21 Mar. 2015, www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21646809-south-africa-struggles-vain-ban-soldiers-fortune-leash-dogs-war. Freeman, Colin. “South African Mercenaries' Secret War on Boko Haram.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 10 May 2015, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/11596210/South-African-mercenaries-secret-war-on-Boko-Haram.html Barlow, Eeben. “The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Boko Haram.” Harvard International Review, 1 Feb. 2017, hir.harvard.edu/article/?a=14477. Isenberg, David. “Africa: A Goldmine for Security Contractors.” LobeLog, 30 Nov. 2016, https://lobelog.com/africa-a-goldmine-for-security-contractors/ McGregor, Andrew. “Conflict at a Crossroads: Can Nigeria Sustain Its Military Campaign Against Boko Haram?” Jamestown, 26 June 2015, jamestown.org/program/conflict-at-a-crossroads-can-nigeria-sustain-its-military-campaign-against-boko-haram/#.Vu5Hz49OIy8 .
I really liked this article since I wrote about Boko Haram as well. But I never knew it was a private war, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you integrate multiple pieces of evidence to elaborate on the situation. You imputed the evidence very smoothly. Up until this point, I didn't know a lot about this issue and it was really interesting to see an article more centered around the private war rather than just focusing on the girls being kidnapped. Overall I thought this article was insightful, but in what ways are people suggesting the PMC learn from the past?
ReplyDeleteCool article, my favorite aspect was learning the difference between PMC operations and government supported military operations. My main take away was that the Nigerian military was unfit to deal with Boko Haram, but the terrorist group was instead being dealt with privately. I would also like to know about other PMCs and whether or not they would be better suited to the task.
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