Buhari. Buratai. And ‘The Bismarch’. What is the link?

The first, we know, and know very well. He is Nigeria’s serving President. The second, we know. And very well too. He is currently Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), an implacable nemesis of terrorists wherever they may exist on Nigeria’s soil, as the scoundrels of Sambisa Forest have since found out.
And The Bismarck? Here, we need to dig a little into the history of World War II. The war  was fought in the sea between the British and German navies. For easy understanding, let us rely on the story of one aspect of the sea war as told in the historical film titled: “Sink the Bismarck!”
The nine-year World War II was fought by two major power blocks. There was the Axis powers, led by Germany with Italy, Austria, Japan as major players. The Allies had Britain as leader with France, Poland, the then Soviet Union, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Canada etc as members.
By 1942, the war was at its bloodiest. The tenacious British and allied armies were taking a pounding in North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea theatres of  war.
Out of fear of possible attack from the northern flank, the German leader, Adolf Hitler, had decided to attack the Soviet Union. He had hoped to quickly crush the Soviets, then turned his full attention against the Allies in the western and southern fronts.
The new Soviet front gave Britain and the Allies the much needed breathing space and time to re-arm and re-inforce. While doing so, they also backed Soviets who, apparently, were not fully prepared for the German invasion and therefore needed help.  To help out, Britain had to dispatch convoys of ships laden with critical war supplies to the Soviets. The only viable convoy route was the North Atlantic Ocean through the cold Arctic Ocean corridor to the Soviet Union. It was a murderous gauntlet.
In  response, the German Navy unleashed its U-Boats, as its submarines were known. And did the U-Boats cause mayhem! The sea corridor was littered with ship debris from both sides. Allies ship losses were becoming unsustainable. The situation was not only desperate, but also critical.
The Japanese had thrown caution to the wind and bombed United States’ Pacific Ocean strategic naval out-post, the Pearl Harbour.  The US promptly declared war on the side of the Allies. This was a huge morale booster to the stretched Allies, especially Britain.  With it came million-tonnes of much needed war supplies, and thousands of well-trained military personnel.
To the Germans, it was an unacceptable nightmare. Should all these supplies get to the fronts, Germany would bleed excessively.  To check the steady inflow of arms and other war supplies from the US to Britain, the Soviet Union and other fronts; the German Navy put to sea its naval joker: The Bismarck.
As at then, it was said to be the latest, best equipped naval predator afloat. This sea monster of a battleship was appropriately named after a former German leader, Otto Von Bismarck, also known as the “Iron Chancellor” on account of his no-nonsense grip on the country.
And so, The Bismarck was let loose against Britain’s North Atlantic convoys. This sent jitters down the British War Office. The Bismarck was way too dangerous a ship to be toyed with. And it proved just that at its very first encounter with three British warships sent to stop it.  In the brief battle that ensued, The Bismarck, with one shell, blew to smithereens the British battleship: “HMS Hood” which sank within minutes.
The second ship was damaged. The third ship thought better than to continue the clearly one-sided duel. Both surviving ships lived to tell awesome Bismarck’s story.
The sinking of HMS Hood sounded the alarm bell. The British Admiralty, which runs the navy, has just had its worst fears confrrmed. While the German High Command clinked glasses and gloated at its new found sea supremacy, The Admiralty, whose sleep The Bismarck had murdered, was burning the midnight oil on how to reign in this naval monster.
A flurry of meetings followed in quick successions. After reviewing all the reports from the meetings, the First Sea Lord, The Admiralty’s overall commander, saw only one option: “Sink The Bismarck!,” he roared. “1 don’t care what it costs. 1 don’t care what it takes, just sink The Bismarck!”
More flurry of activities followed. Fighting ships supporting troops in North Africa and the Mediterranean war theatres were withdrawn into a task force, which promptly set out in search of the German sea terror.
With support from squadrons of naval· airplanes, The Bismarck, all bristling with monstrous guns, was finally located. Wave after wave of air attacks failed to dent it. They did, however, succeed in knocking out its rudder. This looked minor. Even The Bismarck’s captain didn’t think much of it.
However, to the smaller British battleships, it made a whole lot of welcome difference. The German ship could still throw its huge shells at its British adversaries. But  it could neither speed nor maneuver.
This allowed  its smaller but more maneuverable enemies to concentrate their collective fire power on the helpless German sea pride. And so lethal and effective was their fire power that, by the time squadrons of Luftwaffe (German Air-force) planes arrived the scene on a rescue mission, The Bismarck, the new found but short-lived pride of the German Navy, was already entombed in its watery grave thousands of feet in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Now, it was the turn of The Admiralty and the War Office to clink glasses and exchange pats on the back. For the Germans, the pill was simply too bitter.
Back to Nigeria. The scenario is not exactly the same. I mean, Nigeria is not involved right now in any World War. Its navy is not locked in any mortal combat like those of Britain and Germany.
All the same, the country is at war. An equally bloody, murderous war. One that similarly threatens its sovereignty. The war, still on-going, is not with another or other countries. But with a terrorist group, Boko Haram. Nigeria’s own version of The Bismarck.
Internationally, Boko Haram is classified as the most vicious, dangerous and blood-thirsty terrorist group on planet earth. That makes the on-going war in the country’s North East, a  Boko Haram enclave, very serious, as a matter of fact, more serious than the British/German sea war, given the scale of lives and property destroyed with the attendant massive dislocation of social, economic and political life of the people.
There is though a big difference in the way each country reacted to the threat to its sovereignty. And that accounted for the very low loss on the British side, and horrendous loss on our side. The British Admiralty correctly identified The Bismarck as a mortal threat to the country. It responded promptly and decisively. So decisive that the German warship was never again allowed the luxury of gloating over its sinking of another royal navy ship. “The HMS Hood” was its first and last victim.
The Admiralty’s iron will, decisiveness, prompt and telling reaction enabled Britain to eventually win the sea war.
Uhor, Vice President-General, Rivers State Council for Islamic Affairs, wrote from Port Harcourt.

Nasir Awhelebe Uhor