The Chief of Army Staff, COAS Lt.General Faruk Yahaya says the Nigerian Army will continue to have direct bearing on the lives and well-being of its veterans.
The COAS stated this at the Army veterans affairs workshop in Kaduna.
Yahaya who was represented by the Chief of Administration, Army headquarters, Major General Usman Mohammed said, the ultimate objective of the workshop was to enhance the capacity of participants, both serving and retired to effectively support his vision.
According to him, while tackling the issue of insecurity as the main theme of the workshop, the Army will also focus on improving on the lives of veterans, having meritoriously served the nation before retirement and discharge.
He explained that the second quarter edition of the seminar and workshop primarily focused on the Nigerian Army veterans, resident in the North west and North central zones, especially at this critical time that the nation was faced with diverse but surmountable security challenges.
He noted that there had been a recent upsurge in the activities of terrorists and bandits in parts of the country, resulting in loss of human and material resources stemming from daring attacks on villages, commuter roads and rail lines.
“Nigerian Army, under my watch has continued to review its operations for effective engagements against these enemies of the state, we will still count on your cherished experience in support of our activities in your communities”.
“You will all agree with me, through the combined efforts of all Nigerians, especially deliberate collaborations between those of us still serving and our retired personnel, as well as the civil populace are better positioned to tackle this menace of insecurity”, he mentioned.
Yahaya disclosed that, he has directed the selection of relevant topics in line with the theme of the seminar in order to generate quality and result-oriented discussions during the interactive
sessions.
“I urge you to bare out your mind, bring out those special expertise and experience acquired over the years
and let us see how we can defeat this common enemy of peace and security in our country”, he stated.
“You the veterans have major and unique roles to play in the current security situation because you now live with the civilian populace, yet, you are well experienced in various aspects of military combats and activities”.
He said it was an aberration for the criminals to continue to have freedom of action in communities where there are tested and experienced veterans that could easily foils their plots.
The theme for the workshop is “Leveraging Veterans’ Experience in Furtherance of Nigerian Army Operations”.
Ime N
