Military not enemy of state ― CDS

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Leo Irabor, has implored Nigerians to change the negative stereotype against the Armed Forces, saying painting the military in a bad light impedes the fight against insecurity.

This is just as the Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Professor Ayo Omotayo, said security is the beginning of everything in Nigeria.

General Irabor gave the advice while delivering a paper titled “Strengthening Local Governance in Nigeria: The role of the Armed Forces” at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Plateau State.

He pointed out that the perception needs to change to enhance the military and other security agencies’ operations at the local level, adding that the security agencies remained a tool of the state for governance.

“If we have a wrong perception of the armed forces and others, it is like working against oneself, it is time to rewrite the story and put it in proper perspective. We should look at the military as the armed forces that meet the yearning and aspirations of Nigeria as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It is not for anyone to see them as men and women that belong to occupational forces, no it is men and women working for the good of the nation itself. The same applies to other government sub-agencies. So, the wrong impression and perception must change, that is why we need to recommend a change in the perception. Things must change and we need to escalate our relationship with the public to fight insecurity to a standstill,” he said.

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He added that the military in its strategy to mitigate the challenges is to build public confidence against the negative perception of the public.

In his interactions with newsmen, the CDS pointed out that there was no place in which the terrorists occupy any space in the country, stressing that they only succeeded in carrying out operations in which the military had been able to subdue them.

Speaking with newsmen, the NIPSS DG said that security is actually the beginning of everything in Nigeria.

According to him, the participants have gone through many engagements and interactions, adding that there is nothing anyone can do without having a good security environment.