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From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor has stated that the collaborative efforts among sister security agencies to quell security challenges in the country has continued to record tremendous successes in all the geopolitical zones of the country.
He stated this on Wednesday in a chat with newsmen shortly after he delivered a lecture titled, ‘Management of Joint Operations in Nigeria:Defence Headquarters in Perspective,’ to the Course 8 Participants of Air Force War College (AFWC) in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
“We are already succeeding and that is why you can hear of the silence in the north east as it is currently,” Irabor said, adding that, the feat being achieved currently does not imply that the country will be immuned to any form of threat but that its ability to confront and overcome such threat is what is important.
“That does not mean that there will not be any form of threats going forward, no. The world itself, life as it is, is one challenge leading to the other. The ability of a nation to address the problem at hand is what matters. Not that when you finish solving this problem, there will be no problem in the future.
“So, that we have a transmuting threat does not imply that our efforts have not been yielding results. That’s not it. And what has made it possible for us to beat our chests to say look, terrorism in the north east has been subdued is by virtue of the joint effort.
“And it is in the same way that what we now find in the north west and ditto, what you find in other parts of the country, is certainly going to come to an end by virtue of the joint effort. Don’t forget that Niger Delta, used to be very terrible in terms of security, even though what the threat is currently is different.
“What gave rise to a situation where things have become normal is because of the joint effort. So, I am saying we are making progress, we will keep making progress. But as we make progress, of course, there will be other issues that will come up and we too will also review our approach to solving them and to bring a closure to them,” the CDS assured.
While positing that joint operations is indispensable, the CDS emphasized that the support that comes from each of the services from various domains can only be an added advantage when they are fused together.
“This is the reason why it became necessary for our officers to know what it entails and what needs to be done when they are engaged in such environment.
“And I believe that what we now see across the country in terms of the impact of our operational engagement is the testament of the training we are able to impact on our officers.”
He explained further that the main trust of my lecture is the need for the three arms of the Nigerian military; the Army, Navy and Air Force to understand themselves when the three services come together to operate in an operational environment.
“I am sure you know that the Air Force War College is one of out of the three war colleges we in Nigeria. This War College is dedicated to Air operations, while the one for the Army is Army War College of Nigeria and is dedicated to land operations, and the one for Navy is the Naval War College of Nigeria.
“So, with these war colleges, there is the need for these officers to understand when the the three services come together to operate in an operational environment. This is the basis and trust of the lecture. The relatives in joint operations, what the challenges are and the way forward,” he said.
In his welcome address, Commandant of AFWC, Air Vice Marshal Sayo Olatunde commended the CDS for honouring the invitation saying since the establishment of the College in 2016, it was the first time that the CDS would be coming to deliver a lecture.
“Your presence in our midst speaks volume on your commitment and dedication at combating the myriads of security challenges confronting the nation. We are all inspired by your transformational and pragmatic leadership style,”Olatunde said.
