The Nation Newspaper

Tag: military

  • ‘No friction between Defence Ministry, Military’

    ‘No friction between Defence Ministry, Military’

    The Defence Headquarters yesterday debunked reports of disagreement between the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces over contract awards.

    A statement by Defence spokesman, Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade said the discussion at an interactive session between the ministry’s Permanent Secretary and Service Chiefs on Monday was misrepresented by certain newspapers.

    Olukolade urged the public to disregard the report and warned a section of the media against sensational reports, especially on issues that border on national security.

    The statement reads: “The report which was obviously syndicated to some on-line media went to a ridiculous extent of drawing allusion to a non-existent friction between the Services and the Ministry of Defence.

    “It is rather shocking the deliberate twisting of an otherwise innocuous exchange of ideas between officials by the reporters, some of whom were not even present at the event, to suit whatever intention.

    “The comment at the event was grossly and unfairly quoted out of context to create an impression of bitter friction between the leadership of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence.

    “This is very unfair and unfortunate misrepresentation of the spirit of cordial interaction that took place between the Permanent Secretary, the CDS and the Service Chiefs on Monday.

  • Military should crush Boko Haram, says Fani- Kayode

    Military should crush Boko Haram, says Fani- Kayode

    A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, yesterday said the military should be asked to crush Boko Haram members instead of granting them amnesty.

    Fani-Kayode, who made this suggestion in a statement in Abuja, said this is a war against terror and it ought to be prosecuted as such.

    He said: “The call on the Federal Government by the Sultan of Sokoto to grant Boko Haram amnesty is misplaced and ill-conceived. I am in total agreement with the position adopted by CAN and Mr President on this issue and I am relieved that the call has been rejected.

    “The suggestion that a group of people that have slaughtered 4000 Nigerians in cold blood in the space of two years should be granted amnesty is completely untenable and unacceptable.

    “It is also dangerous and counter-productive. This is all the more so when the group has no face and has refused to identify itself or its leaders and when it has not entered into a ceasefire or laid down its arms. “No sensible or responsible government can offer amnesty to a group of people that are butchering its citizens at will and whose evil tendencies are unprecedented in the history of our country.”

    Fani-Kayode called for outright military action against the sect members.

    He added: “You do not grant amnesty to such people. Instead you take off the gloves, remove all sense of restraint and allow the Nigerian military to do their job and crush them.

    “This is a war against terror and it ought to be prosecuted as such. The great Kamal Attaturk did the same thing to the terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists that troubled his country Turkey many years ago.”

  • EU backs military operations

    EU backs military operations

    The European Union (EU) yesterday threw its weight  behind the multi-national military operations aimed at weeding out terrorists in northern  Mali.

    The resolution was reached by the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU after an assessment of the  situation in Mali, according to a statement  in Abuja yesterday by the Communication Unit of the EU Delegation in Nigeria.

    It said: “The Council met in an extraordinary session to discuss latest events in Mali. It condemned the acts being carried out by terrorist groups against the Malian Armed Forces.

    “In line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the Council supported the efforts by the region and the international community and welcomed the swift response by France, supported by other EU member states.

    “The Council also reiterated the EU’s commitment to providing swift financial assistance to the African-led international support mission in Mali (AFISMA).

    “Besides, the Council established the EU training mission in Mali, which is to train and advise the Malian army, in response to the direct request by the Malian authorities to the EU.”

    While stressing that political progress is essential to ensure Mali’s long-term stability, the EU also urged the Malian authorities to adopt and implement a roadmap for the restoration of democracy and constitutional order in Mali as soon as possible.

  • The military and their legacies

    The military and their legacies

    SIR: As we celebrate our fallen heroes this week, one area often neglected by most Nigerians is the contributions of our military towards the development of our nation. This is because military rule has always been associated with evils like corruption, nepotism,and other evils. But we also forget that they contributed a great deal to some of the progress that we have experienced as a nation in the last 52 years.

    The most important contribution of the military to our nation is keeping us united as one country. The military fought a 30-month civil war which consumed several of it’s brightest minds like Majors Kaduna Nzeogwu,Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Colonel Victor Banjo to mention a few. If the politicians were the ones that were in power at that time,I am sure that they would have conducted referendum in the various regions and there would be no Nigeria today.

    Most of the infrastructure we have in our country today were built by the military. The military also built several roads and bridges which dot the nook and cranny of the state. Let us not forget that Abuja as a city was built by the military. They also built several airports and seaports that we have in our country today.

    In the education sector,the military built several Unity Schools in various states of the federation. They also built several universities thereby enhancing the availability of manpower to aid us in our drive towards industrial and technological greatness.

    Most of the power stations through which electricity is provided to most Nigerians were built by the military. In fact,the regime of General Muhammadu Buhari almost solved the problem of erratic power supply in our country before it was overthrown. The failure of successive administrations to make critical investments in that sector has left us where we are today.

    All our refineries were built by the military and they were in good working condition. Since 1999 till now our politicians have not succeeded in building a single refinery instead they increase the pump price of fuel every year and yet there is disparity in prices among the various states of the federation.

    Nigeria experienced her greatest sporting glory under military rule. The Super Eagles won the African Cup of Nations in 1994, Gold in men football in Atlanta 1996; the Golden Eaglets won the U-17 World Cup in 1985, Nigeria’s first Gold medalist,Chioma Ajunwa (1996) among many other sporting victories.

    I am not advocating a return to military rule but it is high time our politicians stop blaming the military for our woes 14 years into our democratic voyage. Let them instead concentrate on how to take us to the promise land.

     

    • Peter Ovie Akus

    University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State

  • Yero urges retired military officers to start small businesses

    Kaduna State Governor Mukthar Ramalan Yero yesterday urged members of the Nigerian Legion in the state to establish small businesses that would enhance their financial viability.

    The governor spoke in Kaduna at the launch of the emblem appeal week marking this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration.

    He said the establishment of such businesses would also improve the state’s business environment.

    Yero expressed gratitude to various military formations for contributing to the security of the state.

    The governor said his administration was working hard to consolidate the gains of the Ibrahim Yakowa administration.

    He said: “This very important occasion is, traditionally, an annual event organised not only to remember and honour our fallen heroes, who fought in various wars and paid the supreme price for the defence of our nation and humanity, but also to soberly focus on the plight of those heroes, who are lucky to still be alive though have suffered various deprivations as a result of the wars.

    “The activities of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day should, therefore, remind us of these sacrifices and the need to alleviate the sufferings of all those who laid their lives so that we may live today. While we pay tributes to the fallen heroes, our profound gratitude also goes to the living heroes…”

     

     

     

     

  • Military hardware to be produced locally

    The Federal Government has concluded plans to localise production of the country’s military hardware.

    Vice-President Namadi Sambo said the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) would be positioned to handle the hardware needs of the Armed Forces, paramilitary services and the police.

    He spoke yesterday during the Presidential Committee meeting on the Review of the Structure, Operation and Activities of DICON, which he chaired in his office at the State House, Abuja.

    He said the committee was expected to come up with a framework that would ensure that DICON meets the objectives of its founding fathers–local production of the needs of the country’s security forces.

  • Tiv allege ‘lopsidedness’ in military, paramilitary recruitment

    A group, the Tiv Federation Quota (TFQ), has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to address the “lopsidedness” in the recruitment of Tiv into military and paramilitary outfits.

    The group alleged that there has been a systemic agenda to root out Tiv race out of the military and paramilitary and replace them with another ethic group within Benue state.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Makurdi, the state capital, leaders of the group, Chief Joe Har, Kelvin Acka and Chris Agabi condemned the non-recruitment and employment of Tiv sons and daughters into federal agencies such as the Army, Navy, police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    “Apart from recruitment into the military and paramilitary outfits, the Tiv ethnic group, which is the fourth largest in the country, has been sidelined in the recruitments by the police, the Navy, the Army and the NSCDC. Where they are recruited all, the number falls short of their population put together,” Har said.

    The Tiv leader gave a statistics of this year’s recruitment.

    He noted that in the recruitment into the Army, eight Tiv made it as against Idoma 40; in the police, only 10 Tiv made it as against 49 Idoma.

    The worst imbalance in the recruitment, according to Har, is into the NSCDC.

    He said 83 Idoma came tops as against Tiv’s seven; in the Navy, seven Tiv and Idoma 79 were reportedly recruited.

    Har explained that in Benue State, the Tiv are in the majority with two senatorial zones and 14 local government areas; the Idoma has a senatorial zone with seven local government areas.

    The Tiv leader noted that this is why in some Tiv-speaking local government areas, the names of other ethnic groups appear on the recruitment list.

    He urged the Federal Character Commission (FCC) to investigate the non-recruitment of Tiv into federal agencies.

     

  • Defence Headquarters: military not involved

    Defence Headquarters: military not involved

    The Defence Headquarters yesterday attributed the killings to reprisals by some armed robbers.

    It also denied that the military was involved in the killings, contrary to what had been reported by some international media.

    The Defence Headquarters made the clarification in a statement last night by it’s Director of Information, Col. M.M. Yerima.

    The statement said: “The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to the unsubstantiated claims by CNN and Aljazeera alleging that the Nigerian Military carried out an early morning attack on Muslim worshippers in a mosque at Dogo Dawa, a village near Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State, where twenty people were allegedly killed by unknown gunmen.

    “This is contrary to reports by other local and international media organizations, who reported that the attack was carried out by unknown gunmen.

    “Investigation revealed that the killing was a reprisal by a gang of armed robbers who lost some of their members after a recent raid of their hide out through the combined effort of the villagers and the vigilance group in that community.

    “The Defence Headquarters wishes to state categorically in the interest of the larger society that no member of the Nigerian Armed Forces was involved in the said attack which occurred in the early hours of Sunday the 14th October 2012.

    “We wish to reassure the general public of our readiness to offer assistance to the Nigerian Police Force and other Security Agencies whose primary responsibility is the maintenance of law and order in the society.

    “ We are committed to the defence and protection of our country’s hard earned democracy and more importantly, the Nigerian Armed Forces belong to the Nigerian people and cannot be an instrument of lawlessness and destruction of the very people it has sworn to protect, as alleged by the reports.

    “We urge members of the public to go about their legitimate businesses without any fear of molestation from any quarter, and to also report any breach of peace and security in the society to law enforcement agencies.

    “Please disseminate this information for the awareness of the general public.Thank you for your usual cooperation and please accept the warmest regards of the Chief of Defence Staff.”

     

  • Kukah blames nation’s under-development on military

    Kukah blames nation’s under-development on military

    Most Rev. Hassan Kukah, the Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Sokoto State, says the military administrations are responsible for the lack of meaningful development in Nigeria.

    Kukah told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto on Tuesday that the military only succeeded in destroying the solid foundation of the nation’s democracy.

    He said that other countries that had similar military incursions in leadership had a different experience.

    “But in our own case the greed of the military led to their intervention which destroyed the foundation laid by the nation’s founding fathers,’’ he said.

    He explained that the Nigeria military had no capacity to provide basic infrastructure to the governed for all the years they were in power.

    He said, “the greed of the military that led to the myriad of military coups destroyed even the foundation of the military itself and this truncated democracy in Nigeria.’’

    Kukah called on Nigerians to exercise patience as democracy was the only option needed to ensure rapid political growth of the country.

    He said that the country could have been better in the hands of civilian administrations rather than the military.

    “Patience, understanding and support from Nigerians are the only guarantees to the nation’s even socio-economic and political development.

    “It is only by so doing that Nigerians from all nooks and crannies could feel the impact of the dividends of democracy.’’ (NAN)

  • Why military should not monitor elections, by Amosun, Oyo speaker

    Why military should not monitor elections, by Amosun, Oyo speaker

    Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu, yesterday insisted that the military should be the last resort in quelling electoral crisis in the country.
    Amosun and Sunmonu explained that police, who are constitutionally empowered to provide security for such internal exercises, should be allowed to play the role in election monitoring.
    They spoke at a lecture marking this year’s Press Week of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo state.
    Amosun, who was represented by his Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in his lecture entitled: “The Role of the Military in Strengthening Democratic Process” noted the development theory of the military, which requires them to cooperate with elected leaders and other democratic institutions to ensure that the country is well governed.
    He said: “The military can achieve this through constant contribution of ideas on internal security, economic development, foreign affairs and political intelligence.”
    The Governor also stressed the need for the military to play a better role in fostering inter- agency relationship.
    In her remark, Sunmonu pointed out that the government would have no reason to deplore military personnel if citizens and politicians played the game by the rules.
    She urged Nigerians to obey the law and uphold the ‘one man, one vote’ mantra of democracy.
    According to her, monitoring of elections is basically the task of the police and other Para- Military agencies.