Trump’s Missed Mark: When precision warfare becomes a “Free Gift” to terror, by Sani Idris
The long-awaited U.S. airstrikes finally took place last night, striking the Jabo and Offa districts in Sokoto and Kwara states. Despite White House and Villa press releases describing the operations as “intelligently coordinated” and “tactically analyzed,” the post-operation reality tells a different story. Both strikes missed their targets entirely. Instead of neutralizing Bandit or ISWAP enclaves, the missiles struck residential buildings and onion farms, terrifying innocent civilians while leaving the criminals untouched.
Objectively, this mission was futile, technically imprecise, politically embarrassing and economically unmerited. What Donald Trump dubbed a “Merry Christmas gift” was actually an “Awoof”—a free pass for terrorists. For the US cruise missiles to travel 10,661 kilometers only to produce an impactless outcome is a gargantuan strategic war error. Such failure does not just dilute the spirit of the innocent civilians; it psychologically emboldens the enemy.
For the people of Nigeria, who looked at US as warfare superpower and pray for the delivery of “one-blow” assemblage capable of degrading the terrorists who have been tormenting and pillaging them for decade, this failure breeds despair.
Reawakening Hope and Unity
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The myth of the U.S. as an “unmatchable giant” of warfare has been shaken and its military precision capability has been contemplated. To recover, the U.S. and Nigeria must resynchronize their intelligence and rejig their location-detection systems. Furthermore, the two countries must move past parallel agendas where the West focuses on “defending Christians” while Nigeria seeks to “defend humanity.” Success requires a unified mental and physical strategy.
On their part, Nigerians must reject the “blame game” and emotional war. Criminality knows no religion or ethnicity; and its consequences discriminate no region or personality. Therefore, only through sincere dialogue and mutual information-sharing can we stop the inflation and expansion of terrorist activities. Emotional blackmail and pointing accusing fingers only deepen weakness and predisposes more groups to mayhem.
Sani Idris writes from the Department of Soil Science, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria-Nigeria.
Email: sanidris2000@gmail.com
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