The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, has commended the significant stride in Nigeria’s security operations undertaken by the Nigerian Army to combat the rising case of insecurity across the nation.
Lagbaja made the commendations at the Civil-Military Cooperation Media Chat held in Sokoto on Tuesday.
The Army Chief who was represented by the Garrison Officer Commander 8 Division, Major General Godwin Mutkut, also called on the media not to unconsciously provide non-state actors, whom he referred to as undesirable elements or characters in society, the oxygen to thrive by propagating their nefarious activities.
He noted that terrorists, insurgents, and other deviants only seek attention and thrive on propaganda and the rain of fear on well-meaning citizens.
“It is our collective efforts that would guarantee the effective decimation of insecurity and the restoration of peace in our society.”
He explained, however, that the essence and desire for peace and security also require the proper harnessing of the collective strength of all well-meaning individuals and organisations.
He further assured that the Nigerian Army will continue to implement robust strategies that span relevant measures across kinetic and non-kinetic lines of operations.
“I am glad to state that the Nigerian Army has taken delivery of some modern equipment and other combat enablers, while the provision of more has been finalised.
“The new additions to our operational capacity have been deployed, and their effects have been witnessed across various theaters of operations.
“In consonance with my command philosophy, measures have been placed to ensure that our troops are well trained and motivated to adequately discharge their constitutional responsibilities.
“The culmination of these efforts is an increasing tempo in all our operations and some remarkable success across the theaters.”
The Chief of Army Staff, while speaking at the fourth quarter of the media chat this year, also emphasised that the desire to ensure the quick resolution of the security challenges necessitated the deployment of Nigerian Army troops across various theaters in all geopolitical zones in the country.
He said the deployment was carefully done to deal with the multiplicity of security challenges in the respective regions.
“It is important to state that the activities of non-state actors that seek to undermine the security, wellbeing, and collective prosperity of our country would be highly degraded and almost non-existent without the collaboration of some unpatriotic and unscrupulous persons in society.”
Lagbaja further explained that the best strategy to deal with contemporary security challenges in the country encompasses the collective strength of all individuals and organisations, synergising in a whole-of-nation approach to defeat the common enemy of the nation.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for his continuous strategic guidance and unwavering support for the Nigerian Army and his confidence in the Nigerian Army since his assumption of office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Speaking in his welcome remarks, the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Major General Nosakhare Ugbo, said the objectives of the Nigerian Army Civil-Military Cooperation Media Chat include providing the means to propagate our activities to the general public as well as engaging with the media to strengthen our relationship and foster mutually beneficial ideas.
He said that having acknowledged the huge contributions of the media in driving public opinion, the Nigerian Army strives to keep the media updated with its activities regularly by carrying out several engagements and press releases, including the hosting of the Civil-Military Cooperation Media Chat.
Hence, the Nigerian Army Civil-Military Cooperation Media Chat for the Fourth Quarter 2023 has been designed and conceptualised to galvanise the “Media as a Force Multiplier in Nigerian Army Operations”