President Muhammadu Buhari has restated that his government is doing all that is possible to equip the Armed Forces of Nigeria for efficiency and effectiveness in the various operations being undertaken across the country.
The President who was represented by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor stated this while declaring open the 2021 Chief of Army Staff Conference being held at the Army Headquarters Command Officers Mess 1 Asokoro, Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria said he is pleased with the Army and the Chief for the progress it has made so far in tackling insecurity as well as the restructuring brought by the leadership of the Army.
The President who acknowledged that the war against insurgency, terrorism and banditry is an intelligence-driven one, further called for a stronger synergy in order to comprehensively defeat the terrorist while urging the armed forces to maintain the tempo of the operations as terrorists continue to surrender to troops in the theatre.
He further urged the army to remain apolitical and operate within the laws of armed conflicts while calling on the army to continue to improve on human rights practices and to evolve novel strategies in tackling security challenges confronting the nation.
“Your efforts in the aspect of training in readiness for your constitutional roles are highly acknowledged, to this end, the various exercises being conducted by the Nigerian Army, especially EXERCISES STILL WATERS, GOLDEN DAWN, AND ENDURING PEACE, geared towards attaining the professionalism and winning the hearts and minds of the citizenry through laudable community projects and outreach programs are highly commendable
“The War against insurgency and terrorism is intelligence-driven it requires the gathering of information, processing it into timely and actionable intelligence for the conduct of operations, it also needs synergy of effort and collaborations among all security agencies. I, therefore, charge you to do more in your information gathering efforts and the level of synergy amongst the intelligence outfits in order to comprehensively defeat all forms of insurgency and terrorism in our country within the shortest possible time,“ stated the Commander In Chief.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Defence, Retired Major General Bashir Magashi who was represented by the Director Army, Sunday Attah urged the Nigerian Army and the armed forces, in general, to continue to decimate terrorists and bandits and called on the service Chiefs not to relent in their efforts at ridding the nation of all criminalities.
“I am optimistic that the deliberations during the Conference will generate new strategies for enhancing stability in our country and greatly assist you in charting a better course for the Nigerian Army in the coming Year 2022”
“In line with the Ministry of Defence core mandate of maintaining men of the Nigerian Armed Forces in a state of combat readiness on land, sea and air; I want to passionately appreciate most sincerely the President, Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari for his quick intervention in the approval of funds for the immediate/emergency procurement of critical equipment and platforms for the Armed Forces of Nigeria to tackle the spate of insecurity across the country. One major concern of the Ministry of Defence is the drive to achieve jointness and unity of effort amongst the 3 Services especially in the conduct of various ongoing operations within the country. I must commend the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs for putting in place measures to achieve this. However, more synergy is still required to ensure that all operations on the ground reflect that jointness in all ramifications for greater successes,” stated the Minister of Defence.
The Defence Minister equally expressed confidence in the capability of the Armed Forces to decimate terrorists which he said must be achieved soonest while imploring the Service Chiefs to ensure that those wounded in action are given the best medical attention possible.
The Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya while delivering his address to the gathering said the Nigerian army has continued to record successes which have been evident in its campaign to root out security challenges bedevilling the country.
According to him, operations have been greatly sustained across the North West and North Central is relatively calm adding that these strides can be attributed to training.
He further stated that a higher premium will be placed on training through collaborations with other countries on counter-terrorism with the aim of tackling evolving security challenges in the country.
“It is therefore the Nigerian Army’s resolve to continue to discharge its constitutional roles toward ensuring peace and stability in every part of the country. I wish to assure Mr President and the good people of Nigeria that their Army is ever ready at all times to defend our democracy and the territorial integrity of our nation. In the recent past, a substantial number of military wares had been deployed especially for JTF NE Operation HADIN KAI and JTF NW Operation HADARIN DAJI to further enhance the tempo of our operations”
“The prevalent terror and insurgency in the North East of the country have been significantly curtailed by the Nigerian Army and the MNJTF in conjunction with the Nigerian Airforce and the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies. Relatedly, the security situation in the North West and North Central which hitherto was tense due to the increased activities of armed bandits among others is now relatively calm,“ stated COAS.
This year’s Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference also features ‘the Nigerian Army Indigenous Research and Development Exhibition which is staged outside the Hall. According to the Army Chief, “This is in line with the Presidential Executive Order 5, of 5 Feb 21 by the President Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to promote indigenous production.”
The COAS Conference also features the maiden Valedictory Dinner in honour of retiring personnel, officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army.
The 2021 COAS Annual Conference with the theme “Building Nigerian Army Capacity in Combating Emerging Security Threats in a Joint Operations Environment,“ runs from 6th to 10th December 2021.
PIAK
