•No Chadian soldier will take part in a military mission outside Chad- President Deby…Fixes April 22 as the deadline for withdrawal of troops from liberated areas
•Chad can’t take the glory for Nigeria’s contribution- Nigeria’s Defence Spokesman
•MNJTF has not been funded for the past six months- Chad Defence Minister
Consequent upon the recent world-acclaimed exploits of the Chadian military in the war against Boko Haram and the various reactions by Nigeria on the frontlines and the media, there seems to be a crack between to two nations in the fight, The News Chronicle observes.
Only recently, the Chadian military led by President Idris Deby Itno decimated 1000 Boko Haram fighters and also seized dozens of weapons. 52 Chadian troops, however, lost their lives in that fight.
The offensive was launched after 92 Chadian troops were killed in a Boko Haram raid on a base at Bohoma on March 23.
But after the Chadian exploit and perhaps in the euphoria of the victory or an extension of the anger he and his forces took into the frontlines, President Deby expressed himself on what he thought of the current war against Boko Haram.
Speaking at different fora, the Chadian strongman expressed the following concerns.
“Our troops have died for Lake Chad and the Sahel. From today, no Chadian soldiers will take part in a military mission outside Chad…Chad is alone in shouldering all the burden of the war against Boko Haram”, Deby lamented.
He claimed his troops are still holding on Nigerian territory and called on Nigeria to come forward and take over the seized territories.
“We want the Nigerians to come and occupy, so we can advance… We’re wasting time, for the benefit of Boko Haram. We can’t go any further in Nigeria. We’re not an army of occupation”, Deby recently warned.
Also, the Chadian army recently disclosed that its troops had expelled armed fighters from Chadian soil and had advanced deep into Niger and Nigeria.
Therefore, Deby said that he had warned those countries that his forces would move out of bases seized there from Boko Haram by April 22, regardless of whether their armed forces moved in or not, reports Al-Jazeera.
But Nigeria’s Defence headquarters claimed that President Deby was wrong and that everything was working well with the MNJTF which is headed by a Nigerian.
“To say that we are slowing down the war is not true at all. By our mandate, you can go in pursuit of insurgents and criminals for 25 kilometres without consultation.
“His Excellency (President Derby) to say that is not right. They are playing their part of the game. It’s not true”, Nigeria’s Defence Spokesman, Maj. Gen John Enenche stated.
According to him, Nigeria was working with the MNJTF and that nobody should take the glory.
“Somebody wants to take the glory with 30 men. When you are in a situation like this and it is coming to an end, some people will be trying to take the glory. It is a distraction for a military to say I am taking the glory. We have done so much there.
“There is no problem in any way between the Nigeria and Chad in the fight against insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin.
“I wish to state categorically clear that we are in touch with the high command of the Multinational Joint Task Force, which is operationally responsible for the activities in that area. The MNJTF high command is headed by a Nigerian,” he said.
According to him, “the successes or failures of that operation can only be accepted if it comes from the Multinational Joint Task Force. The MNJTF is headed by an executive secretary appointed by the four countries that came together to revive the Multinational Joint Task Force and nobody can claim ignorance of what happens there”.
•Chadian troops inside Nigerian territory
Meanwhile, the Chadian Minister of Defence, Mahamat Saleh has disclosed that the Chadian defence forces are in Nigerian territory, to confirm President Deby’s earlier claim.
In an interview with TVC news recently monitored by The News Chronicle, Saleh had this to say: “There is no formal agreement with any Nigerian counterparts but challenges on our side have been mentioned. There is also the issue of planning and as you know today, the Chadian troops are inside the Nigerian territory at Madaye and other islands”.
Saleh revealed that “The MNJTF has not been funded for the past six months” and that “it has an impact on its operations”.
He, however, disclosed that troops from Nigeria and Niger contributed to the recent successes against Boko Haram and that Chad was considering how to strengthen the achievement so that Boko Haram is not allowed to retake those Isles.
Saleh also debunked the claim that Chad was fighting alone or that Nigeria was not in the war, saying that was untrue and that any victory against Boko Haram was a “shared victory”.
There are however some posers. Could President Idris Deby Itno, have acted unilaterally when he led a 9000-strong Chadian force to dislodge the insurgent group?
Secondly, the reactions of Nigeria’s Defence Spokesman, point to the fact that Nigeria was working with MNJTF and not President Deby and his forces.
Thirdly, The Chadian Minister of Defence still maintained his boss’ claim that they are still on Nigeria’s territory awaiting Nigeria’s response. He, however, claimed there was no formal agreement between the two countries.
How both countries intend to win this war without strong and formal cooperation is, therefore, the million-dollar question.
