The Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa, has advocated deserved promotion for troops, particularly soldiers, as well as officers, fighting insurgency, saying it is painful to someone giving all his best when promotion goes to someone else.
The CDS said this at the lecture/book presentation as one of the events to mark the Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) 2023, held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, on Wednesday.
His statement followed the content of the lecture delivered by Major General A. Oyebade (retd), entitled “Optimising Nigerian Army Administration For Successful Counterinsurgency Operations: Strategic. Options.
Speaking on salary and pension, he said that for soldiers, N100 means a lot.
“Commanders should look at the aspect of their salaries and allowances. If they are not paid, it is our responsibility to make sure that they do. If we don’t take time to consider the wellbeing of our troops, we have serious issues,” he stated.
Speaking on man management, Major General Musa during training said that a man would give his best if he is happy.
On the medical aspect, the CDS expressed concern over how the dead and the injured are treated, saying that no one would sacrifice himself if he could see how the injured are treated.
“The system must have protection for its officers and soldiers while they are in service, even after service,” he said.
He urged every officer and soldier to be made to participate in curbing insurgency and other forms of crime to have experience, saying that all aspects in training is to fight war, and the nation has an ongoing one.
Continuing, the CDS also made a case for army personnel, urging that they should be adequately accommodated in a befitting way while their wellbeing is paramount in transportation.
“This is a golden opportunity for you to serve and make a difference. The joy of every commander is that you produce commanders better than you. It shows we are succeeding.
“We can face challenges only if we are committed, and we are committed.”
Speaking on the importance of the media, General Musa said if they are not regarded, they would write a story as they see it which might not be palatable.
“Do not shy away from the media. Let them know what has happened, don’t lie. What you don’t know, explain to them and go and make findings on it and clarify it.”
In his welcome remarks, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, said that the Nigerian Army has remained alive to its constitutional mandate, especially in curbing the activities of insurgents, terrorists, bandits and other criminals, most importantly safeguarding Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
COAS, while disclosing that the Nigerian Army is celebrating 160 years of its existence this year, stated that “Over the years, the Nigerian Army has remained resolute in ensuring that it denies all the adversaries from gaining territorial, economic, technological or psychological advantage over our collective interest as Nigerians.
“This is a remarkable achievement on every account, and that is why we celebrate men and women of the Nigerian Army in the first week of July every year.”
Major General Lagbaja said further that the Nigerian Army Day celebration is also to present an opportunity for the military body to appraise its recent past and reflect on its possible future, “so that we retain the capacity to fulfill our constitutional responsibilities.
“This we do through intellectual exercises that allow us to ruminate over our performances as an army.
“This year, we have selected the issue of administration as a focal point to evaluate our operational performance in the field.
“For the topic for this year’s NADCEL lecture, an experienced guest speaker was selected with a rich team of military and defence experts to discuss the topic.”
There was also the presentation of a book titled “Nigerian Army Participation In ECOMOG Operations And Lessons Learnt 2990-2003..”
The Army Chief said that the idea of the book emanated from the need to provide a clear and factual account of Nigerian Army operations to improve knowledge, doctrine, training and subsequent operations.
He expressed gratitude to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for entrusting the stewardship of the Nigerian Army to him at a crucial time.
He pledged that under his watch, the Nigerian Army shall remain loyal and do all within its power to defeat our adversaries across the length and breadth of the country.
In his lecture, Major General Oyebade highlighted key points in optimising administration for counter insurgency operations to include rotation of troops, provision of medical services, group life insurance, operational needs and special promotion, among others.Inline image
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