The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has directed field commanders and troops to ensure adversaries of the country are brought to their knees by being adaptive and embrace innovation.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the Chief of Army Staff Conference on Monday, he urged the commanders to be innovative, saying that the nation was in a more volatile and complex period than before.
He also urged them that areas experiencing security challenges across the nation, they should restore peace and stability, stressing that Nigeria is currently facing security challenges, such as banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping among others.
“These challenges have resulted in the deaths and abductions of many citizens,” he lamented.
Lagbaja said the troops and commanders must remain committed to their constitutional mandates, reminding them that their primary focus remains the preservation of the nation’s territorial integrity, safeguarding the lives and properties of loyal citizens, and upholding the principles of justice and equity.
He said, “As leaders of our Army, we must create that awareness across the force that the season we are in is more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous than before. We must, therefore, continue to be adaptive, ingenious, innovative, and ready to take up more non-traditional military responsibilities if we must help our dear country survive the time we are in.”
Lagbaja urged the troops and commanders to enhance their intelligence gathering and respect human rights while going about their duties by continuing to strengthen their operational capabilities, enhance intelligence gathering, foster inter-agency cooperation and prioritise the welfare of their personnel.
“Our commitment to professionalism, discipline, and respect for human rights must remain firm and obvious to all,” he stressed.
Lagbaja said the troops, apart from securing the country, had been contributing to global peace.
He said that only recently, with the approval of Mr President and Commander-in-Chief, the second company of the Nigerian contingent in the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei was inducted on April 5, 2024.
He said the effort is geared towards upholding their commitment to maintaining global peace and security, particularly within the African Continent. Similarly, the Nigerian Army has extended its support to peacekeeping missions in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau by deploying troops and allocating resources.
The COAS stated that the deployment underscores their steadfast commitment to providing capable peacekeepers as part of their contributions to global peace and security
He directed the Managing Director of Post-Service Housing Development Limited to set aside five per cent of the Affordable Home Ownership Option for All Soldiers Scheme in each estate for allocation to these wounded and disabled soldiers.
He noted that the programme aimed at alleviating the hardship soldiers face in securing personal accommodation for post-service life, saying that the Nigerian Army will cover all the housing expenses at 100 per cent for the soldiers.
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