Yesterday, the Army announced the retake of the north-eastern town of Gwoza, the headquarters of the terrorist group Boko Haram. But the news could not have come at a better time for current President Jonathan. His re-election bid suffered under scathing criticisms of his government’s performance on security, though recent military victories over the insurgents have galvanised his campaign again. So much so that many believe that he actively pushed for the earlier postponement of the polls to score security points.

Just two months ago, the Boko Haram militants controlled large swathes of Northeastern Nigeria, roughly the size of Belgium. Nigeria’s army was in the back foot. Reportedly low on morale and weapons, the soldiers were losing towns and villages to the ISIS-affiliated group. These military losses gave the opposition more political ammunition against President Goodluck Jonathan’s leadership. But, merely days to the previous date of the Presidential election, Chad, as well as other neighbouring states, joined the battle and helped turn the tide for the Nigerian military.

Galvanised by the multinational joint-force, alongside Cameroon and Niger, Nigeria’s armed forces launched its offensive against the Islamic sect. This mounted pressure on the electoral body INEC to shift the election from the set February 14 date. The ruling PDP party, to which President Jonathan belongs, stated that INEC was not ready for the polls, while the main opposition party, APC, pushed for the date to be sacrosanct. With just hours to the Election Day, the INEC announced a postponement by six weeks. It cited the security chiefs who said they could not provide security because of their on-going military offensive.

Six weeks into that offensive, and the military has retaken 11 of the 14 districts captured by Boko Haram. The government has reportedly spent $500 million on weapons within this period. Riding on recent successes, President Jonathan has also toured the northeast to visit and motivate the men at the battlefront.

However, the retake of Gwoza is the cherry at the top of the President’s cake. It is considered the headquarters of Boko Haram after it leader, Abubakar Shekau, declared it a caliphate in August 2014. It is also believed to be the possible location of the over 200 schoolgirls who were kidnapped from Chibok last April.

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