THE Chief of Army Staff , Lt. -Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja has reassured Nigerians that the military would soon surmount the prevailing security challenges facing the country.
Lagbaja gave the assurance during the closing ceremony of the Chief of Army Staff combined Second and Third Quarters Conference 2024, on Thursday in Uyo.
For five days, Principal Staff Officers of the Army Headquarters, Corps, Formations and Operations Commanders, Commandants of Nigerian Army Schools and Tri-service Institutions, as well as selected Nigerian Army officers serving in key appointments and tri-service establishments across the country converged on, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital for the Chief of Army Staff Combined Second and Third Quarters Conference 2024 in Uyo.
The conference allowed participants to appraise the conduct of ongoing Nigerian Army operations, training, and other activities in executing its constitutional mandate.
It also provided an opportunity to make strategic projections for the fourth quarter and comprehensively review the counter-insurgency operations, anti-banditry efforts, and other critical operations across the country.
While speaking at the closing ceremony of the conference, the chief of Army staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja assured that the army was on the path to victory against insecurity in the country.
According to him, the reassurance was based on the security briefings he received from different army formations and commands across the country.
Lagbaja at the beginning of the conference, had assured Nigerians that the Army would not succumb to calls by some powerful interest blocs to disrupt democratic governance in the country.
He said that the Nigerian Army was still struggling to restore its integrity after many years of military rule and hence is not ready to lose its prestige built in the past 25 years of staying out of power.
The COAS, who spoke against the backdrop of calls by some persons for military intervention during the August 1 to 10 #EndbadGovernance protest, pledged to ensure that the Army works for a united and secure country.
“Another pertinent issue that came up during the recent protest is the call for undemocratic intervention in governance by the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“Although one can say this was coming from young Nigerians who never experienced the era of Nigeria’s extensive military rule and the concerted struggle by heroes and heroines of our current democratic dispensation to get the Nation on its current path.
“As Chief of Army Staff, my simple response to the call is, ‘Thanks, but no thanks!’ The Nigerian Army will not allow itself to be used to undemocratically sail some interests to power.
“As the Service that received the most image bashing as a fallout of previous military interventions in Nigeria, the Nigerian Army is not poised to lose the new prestige it has painstakingly built in the past 25 years,” Lagbaja said.
He said that apart from combating physical insecurity such as terrorism, banditry, crude oil theft, and others, the Nigerian Army was poised to address the challenge of the food crisis which could trigger physical security issues.
To this end, Lagbaja revealed that the Nigerian Army as a way of ensuring food security, was embarking on massive food production in partnership with the government and the private sector.
“Evidently, the situation that led to the protest seems to have settled, but the Nigerian Army understands that the issue of food security will remain on the front burner of our national security policy and discussions for a while.
“As a way of strengthening its soft power approach to resolving Nigeria’s food security challenge, the Nigerian Army will, in the coming days, review its agricultural policy to better position the Nigerian Army Farms and Ranches Limited to significantly boost crop production so that the Army can release grains into the market at highly subsidized rate in support of government efforts.
“Furthermore, the Army Headquarters is reviewing some proposals for partnerships with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government and reputable private organizations on how best to collaborate to resolve the food crisis in the country.