An Evaluation of the FGN Decision to Move Military Command Centre from Abuja to Maiduguri in the Fight against Insurgency in the North East Using Key Result Area Technique

In the checklist of Nigeria’s security challenges, the Boko Haram insurgency stands out as the most disturbing and unsettling experience. Since 2009, the Boko Haram sect has waged a relentless war of attrition against the Nigerian state. During his inauguration speech on 29 May 2015, President Buhari announced that the Military Command Centre would be moved from Abuja, the capital, to Borno state. Using the Key results areas technique, this paper evaluates the Federal Government’s decision to relocate the Military Command Headquarters to Borno state and to determine the efficacy of the intervention. The technique is one of the most useful tools for keeping a team focused, aligned and accountable. The findings in the paper show that the government decision under review is based on the top-bottom decision-making approach. In addition, no systematic, scientific and evidence based indicators and measures have been developed to clearly establish that the government’s intervention programmes are bringing about the desired improvements in the affected communities. The paper concludes by noting that with modifications, the key result areas technique can be used for clear execution and reporting of the Presidential Committee for North-East Initiative (PCNI), so that Nigerian citizens can readily assess the success or otherwise of the government/military policy. This can also help Nigerian citizens in demanding for accountability and also help the government to assess and adequately respond to the needs of people in the affected communities.