Army Under my Watch Will Deal Decisively Threats Confronting the Country – COAS

By Lazarus Zakaa, Abuja.

 

The chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru says the Nigerian Army under his watch will deal decisively with any threat confronting the country.

The COAS stated this during the combined chief of army staff first quarter conference and Nigerian army operations retreat 2021 held at army headquarters command officers’ mess Asokoro, Abuja.

He explained that, already he has directed that serious attention be given to sustaining and improving the tempo in all ongoing Nigerian Army operations across the country.

He said “Commanders must therefore glean from my Command Philosophy to ensure that operational and administrative proficiencies of Nigerian Army formations and units are sustained and improved upon”

“I’m aware of logistics constraints affecting operations across the country and I am glad to inform you that the President, Commander in Chief has pledged to continue to support the Nigerian Army. As I speak, we will soon be receiving combat enablers that would enhance and boost our operations.

” Concerted effort is also being made to eliminate the threat of improvised explosive devices which has been a major impediment to troops and our operations in operation LAFIYA DOLE. Again, in order to increase our operational capabilities, I have approved the purchase of spare parts and directed that all damaged and unserviceable equipment in the theatre be back loaded for immediate repairs”.

The COAS also noted that he and other Service Chiefs took over command of their respective Services at a very critical period when the nation is facing daunting security challenges characteristic of a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment.

“This was rightly highlighted by the Commander in Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, during his first meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs”.

“During the meeting, the President gave us marching orders to decisively deal with all security challenges facing the country.

“In line with the President’s directive and my intent to rebuild the Nigerian Army into a formidable force, I conceived the vision of having “A Nigerian Army that is Repositioned to Professionally Defeat all Adversaries in Joint Environment.” To breathe life into this vision, I released my Philosophy of Command which has Readiness, Capacity, Continuous Leadership Development and Duty to Country as cardinal pillars.

“Readiness entails mission-oriented training, functional manning and equipping while Capacity will be built on the dependability of the Nigerian Army to accomplish any mission in line with norms enshrined in our core values and ethics”. He stated

According to the COAS, the Continuous leadership development on its own will ensure that the Nigerian Army continues to roll out innovative 21st century commanders and of course Duty to Country entails loyalty and sacrifice to our fatherland.

He opined that, as formation commanders and Principal Staff Officers, their role is critical to the attainment of his vision. He therefore, implore them to immediately key into the vision so that together, they can take the Nigerian Army to greater heights.

I am particularly pleased with the initiative to hold the Nigerian Army Operations Retreat as part of the First Quarter Conference after so many years. You will agree with me, that the retreat provides a platform to reassess the threat environment and review our operations with a view to identifying gaps that could be addressed in the planning and conduct of future operations.

He assured them that he is determined in rebuilding the fighting skills, capacity, confidence and morale of the troops across the various theatres of operations.

According to him, In order to achieve this, top priorities for the second and third quarters of the year would be training.

“I will ensure that through functional training, officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army are equipped with the right competencies and skills to effectively undertake daring missions in addition to developing special operations forces”

“This would be closely followed by procurement that ensures appropriate kitting and provision of protective gear, weapons, equipment and platforms. Administration is a key principle of war, hence troops’ welfare will also be given paramount attention.

“Let me however remind you all, that while no effort will be spared in achieving these goals, it is command responsibility to ensure the sustenance and maintenance of all equipment while measures must be emplaced to ensure sound administration of troops and their families”. He maintained

He appreciate all the officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army for their unrelenting sacrifice and efforts in ensuring that the Nigerian Army fulfils its constitutional responsibilities.

“However, as the saying goes, the only easy day was yesterday, as such, I will continue to demand that you redouble your efforts so that we can decisively deal with our adversaries or any group or person that threatens the peace and stability of our great nation. So doing, we will achieve our end state of ensuring a peaceful and stable Nigeria”

“I will also be using this conference and the operations retreat to unveil my strategic plan for the year 2021, where I will be giving very clear directives of what I expect from all of you. Therefore, I expect to see directives emanating from these events and subsequently from Army headquarters translate immediately into proactive courses of action that will find solutions and deal with our numerous security challenges”. He said.