The Chief
of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, Monday, September 7,
2015 said that the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency had exposed inherent
flaws existing in the Nigerian Army, even as he reiterated his
commitment to right all the wrongs with the country’s number one armed
force.
The army chief made this remark while
delivering a keynote address at the opening of the ongoing 2015
Regimental Sergeant Majors’ (RSM) Convention taking place in Maiduguri,
the Borno State capital Buratai noted that the counter-insurgency
operations had tested the capacity of Nigeria Army such that “it has
exposed some major flaws in our discipline, regimentation and
professionalism as well as the general conduct of officers and men of
our Army.”
He declared that his vision as the
number one soldier was “to have a professionally responsive Nigeria Army
in the discharge of its constitutional roles.”
Buratai said he was committed to
achieving the restoration of the core values of soldiering which are
“discipline, regimentation and professionalism,” adding that these
values would position the army effectively to defend the territorial
integrity of Nigeria within the confines of constitutional guidelines.
He said the RSMs, who are the most
important link between officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army, as
well as custodians of unit regimentation, must be well packaged in
discipline, knowledge and motivation to enable him achieve his vision
for the country’s army.
The COAS said it was in the light of the
above premise that the theme of this year’s RSM’s convention was tagged
“Enhancing the Capacity of RSM’s to be Professionally Responsive in the
Discharge of their Roles”.
He thereby urged the 300 participating
RSMs to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the convention to
brainstorm and come out with better ways that would ensure troops remain
focused in the “just cause” of ridding Nigeria of the scourge of
terrorism and insurgency.
Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima,
who was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the convention,
commended the army for bringing the 2015 RSMs convention to Borno State
even as he eulogized the core values of the RSM in the army.
“The RSM does not only come as a person with commanding presence but also the livewire of the soldiering profession,” he noted.
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