Lafiya Dole to Hadin Kai — army renames operation to defeat Boko Haram

The Nigerian army has renamed operation Lafiya Dole, the codename for its operation against Boko Haram, to operation Hadin Kai.

This is the third name the operation has attracted since inception.

Tukur Buratai, immediate past army chief, had in 2015 changed the name from operation Zaman Lafiya to operation Lafiya Dole — Buratai had said the decision signaled his determination to attain peace by force in the north-east.

Lafiya Dole means ‘peace by force’.

But Mohammed Yerima, the army spokesperson, in a statement on Friday, said the renaming to Hadin Kai, which means ‘cooperation’, is in line with the vision of Ibrahim Attahiru, chief of army staff, of having “a Nigerian Army that is repositioned to professionally defeat all adversaries in a joint environment”.

“The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru has approved the renaming of the ongoing Counterinsurgency Operation in the North East from Operation Lafiya Dole (OPLD) to Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK),” the statement reads.

“This is premised on the fact that the Nigerian Army (NA) has made a lot of progress over the years and needs to re-align for better efficiency.

“Also affected in the re-designation are the Army Super Camps which now reflect the nomenclature of the formations and units followed by the name of the locations they occupy, while sub-units are redesigned as Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) followed by the name of their locations. All these changes are with immediate effect.

“It is the belief of the COAS that the complete defeat of insurgency is a process that requires the participation of the entire nation using all elements of national power.”

He added that Attahiru assured troops that under his leadership, the army will continue to pursue the path of cooperation in prosecuting the war against insurgency.