The Nation Newspaper

Tag: GOC

  • Army hails synergy among security agencies

    Army hails synergy among security agencies

    The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Adebayor Olaniyi, has hailed the collaboration among security agencies.

    He said this had led to a reduction in kidnapping, oil theft and piracy, especially in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

    The Army chief spoke yesterday in Calabar, Cross River State, after inaugurating projects executed by the outgoing Commander, 13 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Okwudili Azinta.

    Olaniyi emphasised that the cardinal principle of war was cooperation.

    He said: “I must commend the cooperation of the Armed Forces as well as other security agencies, such as the police, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigerian Customs Service. The cooperation has been unprecedented. They have been wonderful.

    “Most of the achievements we have recorded are because of this cooperation.”

     

     

    Adebayor Olaniyi

     

  • Army chief assures of safety at Yuletide

    Army chief assures of safety at Yuletide

    As the Christmas and New Year celebrations draw closer, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Gen. Obi Umahi, has assured that Lagos and Ogun states are safe, urging residents to go about their lawful businesses without fear.

    Umahi, who said the division had made adequate arrangements to dislodge any possible security threat, spoke at the AN Barracks, Yaba, at the inauguration of a Creche and Nursery School constructed by the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives (NAOWA).

    The GOC refuted speculations of likely attacks on public places in the states by terrorist elements, adding: “Security agencies are on top of their game.”

    He commended NAOWA for constructing the school, adding that it would help the community offer their wards early education.

    NAOWA’s National President, Mrs. Nnenna Ihejirika, lauded the 81 Division leader of the association, Mrs. Chinyere Umahi, for completing within nine months, the project that was abandoned for 15 years.

    Represented by her deputy, Mrs. Christiana Bassey, Mrs Ihejirika commended all those who assisted the association in its bid to ensure children within the community have conducive learning environment.

    Mrs. Umahi added: “The state of the building was discouraging because the compound and all the rooms were overgrown by weeds. There was a big tree thriving inside one of the rooms. We, therefore, embarked on this project because the danger posed by house helps and nannies cannot be over-emphasised, thus the need for a school that would cater for infants of the working class mothers.”

    She implored parents to enrol their wards in the school to encourage NAOWA to execute more of such projects.

  • Tempting soldiers

    Tempting soldiers

    •The military should not be allowed to contemplate role in elections or any aspects of our democracy

    People outside the country must have been surprised over the news report that the Nigerian Army is training its men for the 2015 general elections. Speaking at a two-day seminar with the theme “State of readiness of units with 81 Division and challenges of internal security operations” for its men, the Commander, 9 Brigade, General A. Oyebade, said the army has mapped out some of the areas where the soldiers would be involved.
    The surprise of outsiders would centre on questions like: What should be the business of soldiers with elections? Are election days not like any other day that will come and go while the people perform their civic responsibility of voting? Yes, this is the way it is in civilised climes. But it does not work that way in our kind of environment. Here, as in many parts of Africa, elections have become ‘do-or-die’ battles, to paraphrase one of our former presidents.
    Considering this peculiarity, we should ordinarily thank the Nigerian Army for taking time out to think and talk about the 2015 elections. This is so much so that the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, General Obi Umahi, said that “no warning order has been issued and we have not been directed to prepare for the election. We have not even been told we will participate or not during the election but we are preparing so that we are not caught unawares”. In other words, the army was motivated by patriotic instincts to have begun preparations for the polls.
    We appreciate the patriotic instincts that would have made the army organise such a forum on the all-important 2015 elections. Without doubt, the poll promises to be important, if not ominous, especially considering recent political developments in the country. But we cannot support military involvement in election matters.
    This is strictly a job for the police that are in charge of internal security. The 1999 Constitution is clear on that. If we keep involving soldiers in internal security duties, we tend to give them a larger-than-life impression, which is dangerous for democracy. Again, many of our top military officers who should know, including General Theophilus Danjuma, have always warned against distracting soldiers with duties not having direct bearing with their core duty of protecting the country from external aggression because such duties particularly have negative impact on their professionalism.
    Moreover, whether our military authorities agree or not, Nigerians believe that soldiers’ presence during elections scares voters away. So, quite unlike how Gen Oyemade sees it, it is not a question of the military having code of conduct for participating in election. Don’t the police have? And how has that deterred them from being biased in favour of the ruling party? But that is not even the only worry; more worrisome is the fact that the country will be doomed if our soldiers get compromised and become as partisan as the police should they (soldiers) be given crucial roles during elections.
    It is a sad commentary on our politicians, particularly the ruling party, that elections have become ‘do-or-die battles’ to necessitate soldiers anticipating trouble at the polls that are still more than one year away.
    The government should face the reality of addressing the inadequacies of the police in order to make it more efficient. Apart from terrorism that the soldiers mentioned, most of the things that they are preparing to do ahead of the elections are what the police should be brainstorming on. For instance, Gen. Oyemade said that “The division is keeping a close watch on ethnic militias such as OPC … some politicians may want to use them for their political ambition …” This is the duty of the police.
    Many years ago, our soldiers were rarely seen in the public; they were contented staying in their barracks unless in compelling circumstances. That should be the template. Let the soldiers not lead themselves into temptation. Roles like this tease them into politics. Military rule and adventurism in our politics since independence fed on temptations like this. This is a DEMOCRACY for civilians, not a platform for soldiers to test and taste power.

  • GOC for 82 Division in Enugu

    The new General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Ashimiyu Olaniyi, yesterday assumed office.

    The handover took place at the GOC’s conference room.

    Former GOC Major-General Oluwaseun Oshinowo thanked the officers and soldiers of the division for their support, cooperation, loyalty and successes recorded during his tenure.

    He urged them to extend same to the new GOC.

    He equally enjoined them to extend his sincere gratitude to their spouses for keeping the home front while they were away on tour of duty.

    Major-General Olaniyi expressed gratitude to God and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika for the opportunity to serve as the 82 Division.

    He hailed the achievements of his predecessor and promised to continue in the same direction, saying he would even do more to consolidate the gains recorded so far.

    The new Commandant called on the officers to continue to put in their best and offer positive suggestions on how to move the division forward.

  • How to check insurgency, by GOC

    The General Officer Commanding 2nd Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Muhammad Abubakar, has said without an adequate product adaptation and development in the manufacturing sector to sufficiently reduce the alarming unemployment rate and poverty, particularly among the youths in the country, peace may continue to elude the country.

    Abubakar stated this as a guest lecturer at the 7th Annual Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Alumni lecture and commissioning of its building held in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

    In his lecture titled, “Technological Advancement: A panacea Towards Attaining Peace And Nigeria Security Strategy”, the GOC identified inadequate energy, weak educational system, inadequate synergy in research and development, inadequate ICT infrastructure, lack of incentives to industries and small and medium scale enterprises.

    While pointing out that energy is a critical factor in the development of any country, he lamented that the current electricity generation in the country which keeps oscillating between 2,800 to 4,000 megawatts as against a demand of 10,000 megawatts, has caused existing industries to reduce or stop production totally.

    On security, Abubakar noted that “although security agencies are gradually gaining upper hands, there is likelihood of the Boko Haram group to going underground to resurface later if the root cause of the problem is not addressed”, adding that the wide range of security challenges calls to question the place of technology in enhancing national security.

    Earlier, the acting Vice-Chancellor of LAUTECH, Professor Sulaiman Gbadegesin who commended the selfless efforts of the Alumni to their alma-mater, urged other alumni associations to emulate the exemplary conduct of LAUTECH Alumni for meaningful development.