By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Lucky Irabor, had cautioned the new set of Service Chiefs to be wary of lip service when dealing with the concept be jointmess in military operations.
He also told the military leaders to speedily implement conclusive measures to make joint operations effective and result-oriented.
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Ex-Gen Irabor, who gave this warning at the ongoing second Chief of Defence Staff Joint Task Force Commanders Conference 2024, in Abuja, also noted that there is no more space for lip service in relation to actualizing the spirit and letter of joint force concepts and operations.
He encouraged the service chiefs to motivate their subordinates to think jointness and beyond single service.
He further urged them to inspire troops to shun parochial and divisive advise and counsel in their briefs, especially in matters of jointness.
Beyond the imperative of jointness in military operations, retired Gen Irabor, also raised questions over troops training, motivation and deployment of state of the art equipments in various theatre of operations.
He said: “To the Service Chiefs, I am delighted to observe that you are raising the bar on the imperatives of jointness. I would like to maintain my counsel as you undertake your tasks that there is no individual trophy. The value proposition of your Service is the quality and skills sets of components within the joint space”.
He therefore, queried, “How well trained are the troops you are contributing? What is the capability and serviceability state of the equipment being deployed to the joint environment? What is the psychological state of your personnel? How motivated are they to the cause for which they are being deployed to the joint environment? I am convinced that these and many more questions are occupying your minds, and that periodically, you are deliberating on the key issues with the CDS. It is necessary to remind you that we have been on this plane for far too long. The results are stark. They clearly show no more room for operational stovepipes Sowia and service protectionism”.
The CDS, he said, must be bold in leading the service chiefs to get the appropriate political backing to effectively implement the dictates of joint force capacity building and utilization.
“I submit that any attempt to trivialize these issues will keep the performance level of the AFN below par. You will not be happy at the turn of events in future if this fails. I know you are very well objective, focused, forward-looking and solution-centred military leaders. I am convinced that you will do the needful because you can,” he concluded.
On his part, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, the incumbent Chief of Defence Staff, recognised the import of capacity building and training in maintaining operational readiness.
Addressing the military commanders, he said, “as field commanders, it is incumbent on you to ensure that your personnel are equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and resources to carry out their duties effectively”.
The success of of military operations, he said, is not entirely dependent on military powess, but also on the military to build strong relationships with the communities in which they operate, listen to concerns, addressing their grievances, as well as ensuring a safe and secure environment.
On his part, the Minister of Interior, Hon.
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, called for a strategy that would involve border communities in the effective management of the nation’s porous borders.
The Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohammed Bello Bello Matawalle, applauded his Interior counterpart for creating a special centre for personnel of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, to be captured seamlessly when seeking to procure or renew their international passport.
