Nigeria’s former minister of defence, Theophilus Danjuma has said that service chiefs must work assiduously to end terrorism and banditry so as to restore peace in the country.
He made his remark in Abuja on Tuesday at the public presentation of a book, ‘Big Boots: Lessons from My Military Service’, authored by Solomon Udounwa, a retired major general.
The former minister emphasized the urgency of the need to end the persistent insecurity, saying that the military must stop the killings going on in many parts of the nation.
“The number one problem today is security, and we must end the pandemic, stop the killings that are going on in our country as soon as possible,” NAN quoted the former minister of defence as saying.
“Those of you who are still serving no excuses and absolutely none.”
Danjuma, however, commended the military leadership’s efforts to tackle insecurity, noting that the armed forces have also displayed excellence in managing their pension schemes.
The chief of defence staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, stated that the military is working “tirelessly” to restore peace across the country, adding that the troops would uphold service, integrity, and honor, defining their noble tradition.
“Let me also assure our distinguished chairman that the armed forces of Nigeria are prepared, willing, dedicated, and committed to ensuring we restore peace and security in our dear country,” the CDS said.
“We shall not be deterred. Yes, there will be challenges, but that’s why we are here. I want to assure you that we have learnt lot from your record as very distinguished senior officers who have guided us over the years. We cannot afford to fail, and we will not fail.”
The author of the book, Udounwa, whilst speaking, said he wrote to share his life stories with the younger generation, stressing that his military background showed him the value of learning from experience.
Udounwa also said that younger military officers need the experiences of the past generations’ to learn strategy and effective management.
“I hope they will learn that to serve in the military requires discipline, requires professionalism, requires integrity, requires character, requires courage, and so many other virtues that an officer must display while undertaking his duties,” Udounwa said.
“Then, when I joined the military, because my feet are very big, I was also given big boots, which went with me everywhere I served and which I used in trampling on terrorists and every other threat to our national security.”
Among attendees of the event were Tukur Buratai, a former chief of army staff (COAS), Lucky Irabor, a former chief of defence staff (CDS), Faruk Yahaya, a former chief of army staff (COAS), and other serving and retired top military officers.