A former Chief of Defence Staff and one-time Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), on Tuesday raised concern over the alarming rates of killings in the country by armed bandits and urged the Service Chiefs to end banditry and return the country to the path of peace immediately
Speaking at a book launch titled: “Big Boots: Lessons from my military service”, authored by Solomon Udounwa, a retired Major-General of the Nigerian Army in Abuja, General Danjuma decried the ongoing abduction and killings in the country and declared that ” there are no excuses” for the lingering insecurity ravaging the country.
The former Defence Minister said, “Number one problem today is security. We must end the pandemic and stop the killings that are going on in our country as soon as possible. Those of you who are still serving have no excuses. Absolutely no!”
The Elderstateman who was the chairman of the occasion, extolled the virtues of the author and his commitment to excellence in his military career and urged serving personnel of the Armed forces to emulate him
However, in his remarks, the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Christopher Musa, disclosed that the military was well positioned and working tirelessly to restore peace across the country
The CDS pointed out that the armed forces would continue to uphold the values of service, integrity, and honour that define extreme military tradition.
According to him, “Let me, at least, also mention to our distinguished chairman that the armed forces of Nigeria are well positioned and are willing, dedicated and committed in ensuring that we restore peace and security in our own dear country.
“We shall not be deterred. There are going to be challenges, yes, but that’s why we’re here. I want to assure you that we have learnt a lot from your record, very, very distinguished senior officers that have modelled us all through the years. We cannot afford to fail, and we will not fail.”
Speaking, the author said that he was motivated by the desire to document his experiences for the younger generation.
According to him, “Well, I was motivated by a lot of factors. The first one is that the military profession thrives on experiential learning. That is to say, younger generations of military officers and soldiers require the experiences of those who served before them to learn whether it’s issues of strategy, administration, operational management, and the rest.
“If you don’t document your experiences, that could be lost, and then those coming behind you might not be able to learn from all the exposure and all the training that you had while in service.
“My book is going to be of interest to serving personnel, to military historians, to academia, for people who are interested in national and international security affairs, and to the general public. So, that was the motivation.
“I hope the younger generation of officers who are still serving will learn from some of the challenges I faced and how I was able to navigate through them.
“I hope they will learn that to serve in the military requires discipline, professionalism, integrity, character, courage, and so many other virtues that an officer must display while undertaking his duties.”.
He explained that the title of the book “Big Boots” was informed by the size of his feet and boots in the military.
While narrating his experience during childhood, he said, “I faced bullies in primary school. But the day I decided to unleash my big feet on one of the bullies, it ended that reign of terror.
“And then when I joined the military because my feet are very big, I was also given Big Boots, which went with me everywhere I served and which I used in trampling on terrorists and every other threat to our national security.”
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