The Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has emphasised the need for military tattoos to foster relationships and unity among the military and civilians in the country.
The Defence Chief gave the emphasis while unveiling the Armed Forces of Nigeria tattoo 2025 Logo in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
General Musa said, “Tattooing in the military is a name given to situations where they showcase the history, culture, patriotism, skills, discipline, and the heritage of Nigerian Armed Forces.”
He noted that regimentation is one thing that actually makes a soldier a soldier, which gives one that discipline of understanding what command is, what obedience is, what loyalty, dedication and sacrifice are.
According to him, it eliminates all issues of indiscipline and clashes between civil-military situations with civilians in town and all acts of indiscipline.
“So regimentation in general is what really makes a soldier a complete soldier, and when I say soldier, I mean both the naval man and the Air Force personnel.
“So all together, we’re trying to bring that back as we’re gradually moving towards peace, situations where we can see that gradually we’ll start returning to barracks. We need to do that because we want our young soldiers, young officers that have not experienced this, because a lot of them from commission, from NDA, from recruitment, from depot, have not had the privilege of being in the barracks to know what it means about regimentation,” he said.
He noted that he has been out in the field; it is high time for them to start introducing that as they move towards peace, as he appealed to the civil population for that understanding.
“This tattoo is a parade, recently, I’m sure if you go to YouTube if you check the Edinburgh tattoo, the ones Nigeria, we sent our team, our gas brigade team went to London and were able to perform, they showcased Nigeria,” he said.
According to him, they will also invite other members of other armed forces to come and will showcase their parades, their culture, their activities.
And this fosters unity between us. So that is very, very important for us. And it’s a critical thing for every armed force that is professional.
That separates you from kangaroo armed forces or from non-state actors, because they don’t know what all this is about, so they want all attenders to be open; it will be a parade.
“Now, this also will foster our relationship with the civil population, because what we see, as we have always mentioned, asymmetric warfare is a kind of warfare that survives, thrives more when the population, when the citizens are not fully aware of their responsibilities.
“And so this is another medium that I want to present that close relations, the civil-military cooperation between us and our civilians to know that the armed forces are here for Nigerians and for Nigeria. We are duty-bound to protect you wherever any Nigerian is attacked, is molested, that is what the armed forces are”, he added.
He stressed that apart from protecting the sovereignty of Nigeria, both internally and externally, they want to make that very clear so that Nigerians can take ownership of this and the first phase will come in 2025, God willing, and we’re going to make that very pronouncement.
Everybody will see, and I’m sure, by the time we go through it, I’m sure everybody will get that awareness and will be able to be proud of the Armed Forces. And so I want to thank all of you for coming. And to tell you again, every opportunity we have is that we cannot do it alone.
He also talked about the recent visit of Mr. President to France, where a lot of bilateral agreements were signed as e a lot of comments that have been made.
“Sometimes people just want to bring falsehood or to tarnish the image of Mr. President, but I just want to clarify that no foreign body will establish any foreign military base in Nigeria. Not in the north, not in the south, not anywhere. It has never happened and it will not. Mr. President has said we should make that very, very clear.
“Whatever it was signed is a bilateral agreement on trade, on culture, on tradition, and on cooperation, on economy. And the aspect of, because I’ve had comments about that in the north, the President has signed deals to allow them to come and establish base camps in Nigeria. Nothing like that,” he said.
He added that Mr. President knows the implications. Mr. President knows that he wants to protect Nigeria and he will never allow any foreign body.
“We will continue to partner together bilaterally because we do training together,” he said.
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike represented by the Director of Tourism, Mrs Ann Nenadi Dogo said that the minister is working assiduously to ensure that FCT is a capital that you are all proud of, so that as you make your efforts to bring this cause into the city for the military tattoo, that you be proud of the city that you have.
He noted that there are already a lot of new roads that have been flagged up, and some roads that have been commissioned already and they are not resting on their laurels to ensure that this becomes the number one tourism destination.
“The military tattoo is really a tourism activity, because tourism is life,” he said.
According to her, it is about people, persons moving from one destination to the other for whatever reason and for whatever reason that we’re bringing this cause into the city, they are prepared in the FCT, as you can see, the solution of the ministers, to ensure that Abuja becomes the city that we are proud of.
“We’ve always had collaborations with the military, as I know, when they went for the military tattoo in Scotland.
“The FCT cultural authority was also involved, and they made us proud. They said, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. We are proud of the military that we have, and we are flaunting you,” he said.
She noted that sometimes last year, because of how they value the military, they know what we’re doing, they felt there’s a need for them to let the younger generation know what the military is doing to secure us, so with that, they launched the military combat ration.
He explained that the combat ration was different foods from different parts of the country that we put together that have a long shelf life, that the armed forces can take to wherever they are going, trying to secure our country so that they can feed themselves properly with very nutritious foods that are natural, that are organic.
He added, So we did that, and it was unveiled at the cultural center, that is what FCT is doing, and there’s much more.
He stressed that with this military tattoo, there’s so much they have to offer, and they look forward to collaborating with them to make the city a number one destination.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Rear Admiral K Mohammed said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria have long stood as a symbol of strength, courage and unity, while embodying the values of service, sacrifice and patriotism.
“As we plan toward the Tattoo, we aim to showcase not only the operational excellence of the military, but also the vibrant culture and indomitable spirit and the dedication of the men and women who make up the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” he added.
According to him, the logo they are unveiling today is not just a design; it is a tribute to the patriotism, valour and resilience of the military, as well as a reminder of our collective history and vision for the future.
Each element of the logo has been crafted to reflect the Armed Forces’ commitment to peace, security and resilience.
It is believed that the logo will serve as an emblem of pride and inspiration for the members of the Armed Forces and the general public.
The Tattoo itself is a unique celebration, bringing together members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and civilians, as well as members of the Armed Forces of some notable countries.
In the grand exhibition of military music, drill displays, and cultural performances.
Importantly, it is hoped that the event will not only honour the military tradition but will also foster a deeper understanding and appreciation between the Armed Forces and the citizens.
It will equally strengthen the bond and relationship between Nigeria and invited participating countries, as well as improve the country’s economy.
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