Chadian President, Marshal Idriss Déby Itno was born on the 18th of June 1952 and died on 20th April 2021. He was a Chadian politician and military officer who was President of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021. He was also head of the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby was of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He took power by leading a rebellion against President Hissène Habré in December 1990 and survived rebellions and coup attempts against his own rule.
An Army Officer by training, Déby was a long-time ally of France and other Western powers in the battle against jihadist groups in the Sahel region of Africa. Ahead of the election on 11 April 2021, he campaigned on a platform of bringing peace and security to Chad.
But there has been growing unhappiness over his government’s management of the country”s oil resources.
A shrewd tactician, he had been President Habre’s Chief-of-Staff, leading a series of victories over rebel forces in the 1980s and earning a reputation for courage and military prowess.
He maintained that position in large part by using his regional influence to manage domestic problems.
Now at the forefront of counterterrorism operations in much of West and Central Africa, and an important player in Libya, Chad’s government is on one level stronger than ever. For Washington and Paris, Chad is the linchpin of various purported “African solutions to African problems” —especially the Multi-National Joint Task Force fighting Boko Haram and the incipient G-5 Sahelian regional force that is meant to combat jihadism in Mali and surrounding areas.
The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) is an effort by the Lake Chad Basin States – Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria – to pool resources against jihadists that threaten all four countries. The joint force has been conducting military operations inside the borders of member States.
The Lake Chad Basin countries, plus Benin, created the MNJTF in its current form in late 2014 and early 2015. Together they committed just over 8,000 troops to the joint force. The African Union authorized the force on 3 March 2015 and envisaged that a sub-regional body, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), would assume civilian oversight.
The MNJTF established a critically important multilateral framework to combat Boko Haram insurgents. The joint force has brought some dividends. Working together has enabled forces from different countries to learn from each other, promote cross-border cooperation and improve tactical coordination. Joint operations, mainly involving Chadian troops deploying into the other countries, helped stem Boko Haram’s spread in 2015 and 2016, resulting in its split into at least three factions.
MNJTF offensives in 2017 and 2018, along with a more sustained operation in 2019, also reversed the insurgents gains, freed civilians captured by them and facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The late Chadian President had joined the Nigerian soldiers in the frontline of the fight against Boko Haram terrorists in the region.
The operation codenamed “Operation Wrath of Bomo,” came after terrorists dealt the heaviest blow to the Chadian military after an assault killed over 90 soldiers.
According to him “We launched the “Wrath of Bomo” operation. We must defeat terrorism to allow our people and especially those of Lake Chad to live in peace. This is the whole meaning of the fight that our valiant soldiers are waging against Boko Haram,”
The Operation according to reports took place at Kelkoua bank and Magumeri where the Army destroyed several Boko Haram bunkers, recovered cache of arms and arrested a top Boko Haram commander.
It was gathered that the Chadian troops allegedly set free some Nigerian soldiers held captive by terrorists at Magumeri, a Local Government Council in northern Borno State. Five days later, April 4, the President announced that Boko Haram had been completely removed from Chadian territory.
On the same day Deby met with head of the commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force fighting Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region. Deby said the meeting in Kaiga-Kindjinria, with Nigerian General-Major Ibrahim Manu Yusuf bordered on security deployments on the islands of Lake Chad.
Late Déby has been criticized for his human rights record but is seen as a key security ally by France, Nigeria and other countries in the region in the battle against Boko Haram and other groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
With his sudden exit, the security of Nigeria and other West African countries is in question.
For many military intelligence and defence experts, Deby’s demise may provide a vacuum and unstable policy directions in tackling insecurity as reprisals, protests and counter attacks may dot the Chadian landscape. For others, it will provide opportunities for political reforms and reconciliation among warring factions in Chad of well managed by the successor, a 37 year old four star General.
As speculations continue, it is in Chad’s interest to maintain a stable environment for investors particularly with it’s new found wealth in oil and gas.
For state actors across West Africa, Deby will be missed for his consistent fight against extremists Islamist groups despite his sit tight and high handed position on ruling the country for two decades
