The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher
Musa, said yesterday he will promote creativity
within the nation’s Armed Forces.
He also said the Armed Forces will make Nigerians
the focus of activities to truly put them at the centre
of its actions towards promoting and safeguarding
a secure environment for all.
The CDS equally said his leadership concept would
be built on three pillars — being people-centric,
prioritising troops’ welfare and deepening jointness
and inter-agency collaboration.
He said the armed forces would defend the
country’s territorial integrity and democracy as well
as safeguard internal security and unity to achieve
the stability required to guarantee sustainable
national development.
The CDS stated these when he appeared for
screening before the House of Representatives ad
hoc committee on screening of service chiefs. It
will be recalled that the Senate had last week,
screened the service chiefs and other security heads
appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last
month.
He said: “I recognize the significance of leading the
thousands of devoted and distinguished service
men and women to provide a secure and peaceful
environment for Nigerian people to freely engage in
their legitimate enterprise, in line with the
constitutional mandate of the Armed Forces of
Nigeria, AFN.
“In this regard, the AFN under my leadership will be
people-centric by prioritizing and safeguarding our
people and their legitimate way of life as
prescribed by the Nigerian constitution.’’
On welfare of troops, Musa said troops’ welfare and
sound administration will provide the required
atmosphere for the AFN to deliver on its
constitutional responsibilities.
He said the Armed Forces will continue to seek
ways and means to improve the welfare of its
personnel under his watch.
“In this regard, service men and women of the AFN
should be reassured of my commitment to their
welfare, provision of relevant operational equipment
as well as infrastructural development within
available resources to enable them succeed in
assigned constitutional roles.
“I shall also promote international military
cooperation/collaboration to further expose and
provide capacity building to AFN personnel in joint
and combined operations outside the shores of
Nigeria.
“This measure is required to consolidate on AFN
welfare priorities in order to effectively deploy, fight
and win our nation’s wars by providing ready,
prompt and sustained land, sea and air dominance
by the AFN across traditional as well as
asymmetric conflict settings as part of a joint
force,” he said.
Speaking also at the screening, the Chief of Army
Staff, Major Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, said the Nigeria
Army remains the most misunderstood, complex
and challenged component of the Nigeria Armed
Forces.
According to him, security challenges in the last
two decades have made governance more
challenging, and that it has disrupted developmental
progress in the country.
Lagbaja said: “I consider my nomination as a call
to higher responsibilities and I am determined not
to betray the trust and confidence reposed in me.
‘’It is an open secret that our country has faced a
challenging security environment in the past two
decades. It has impacted adversely on our socio-
economic and political lives.
“The episodic crises of the past have now become
enduring, thereby making governance and the rule of
law more challenging for successive
administrations.
“Today’s painful reality is that insecurity has
distressed our developmental plans and aspirations
for a strong, prosperous, globally competitive and
influential nation.
‘’Never in recent time is the requirement for
proactive, adaptive and inclusive leadership more
needed than Nigeria’s security environment of
today.
“These requirements are what I intend to do as
COAS if confirmed. I am mindful that the Nigerian
Army, which I am being screened to lead is a
crucial component of our military instrument of
national power. “It is not only the largest, but the
most complex, most geographically spread, most
sought after during crisis and often most
misunderstood.
“I believe that for the Nigerian Army to grapple with
the demands of the contemporary security
environment, it would consistently transform to be a
step ahead of its time.
“For this reason, I conceptualize my philosophy of
command as to transform the Nigerian Army into a
well-trained, equipped and highly motivated force
towards achieving our constitutional responsibilities
within a joint environment.
‘’I intend to partner with the National Assembly and
other stakeholders in achieving this command
philosophy.’’
Speaking earlier at the meeting, the chairman of the
committee, Babajimi Benson, said for more than
sixteen years, Nigeria had witnessed diverse and
unprecedented level of insecurity in which the
Armed Forces of Nigeria had been fully involved,
prompting the launch of several theatres of
operations and exercises as well as providing
support for tackling several domestic security
challenges.
“The House of Representatives is delighted with the
successes recorded so far, especially in the last
one year. We acknowledge these robust
achievements which is a proof of the level of
professionalism often displayed by our military in
the discharge of their duties.
“We urge you to effectively collaborate with sister
security agencies to ensure that all security threats
are completely neutralised, and Nigerians can live
peacefully. “The world of security is dynamic and
ever-changing. New security threats are emerging
across the globe. Today, wars are not only fought
on the land, sea and air, but also in cyberspace.
“Consequently, the art of warfare must, therefore, be
a step ahead. This is why Nigeria must tap into and
harness the potential of having a Defence Space
Force, like in the United States of America.
‘’While acknowledging the immense contributions of
the Defence Space Administration, DSA, there is a
need for a full-fledged Defence Space Force to
adequately handle potential threats from cyberspace
and provide intelligence support to other services,’’
the lawmaker said.
Tasking the nominees on their responsibilities,
Benson stated that the role of securing lives and
property of Nigerians is a collective task for the
Armed Forces.
He stated further that the 10th House of
Representatives is keenly committed to providing
the necessary legislative framework to the current
government in its quest to ensure that Nigerians
lived in peace.
“We must, therefore, work collectively to deliver
more on the goals of this administration to
drastically reduce cases of insecurity across the
country.
“While the House will continue to support this
vision through our legislative activities, we shall also
embark on rigorous oversight exercises, beginning
from this screening, to ensure that the Armed
Forces of Nigeria adhere strictly to the provisions of
all Appropriation Acts as will be eventually passed
by the National Assembly and accented to by Mr.
President.
He, therefore, urged the nominees to cooperate with
the National Assembly while performing their
constitutional duties of ensuring a peaceful, secure
and prosperous country for all Nigerians.
The meeting afterwards went into a closed-door
session.

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