The Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, on Tuesday, decried what he described as rising cases of drug abuse among soldiers deployed in the various theatres of operation.
Lagbaja raised the concern in Sokoto while declaring open a one-day seminar on warrior ethos, with the theme “Optimizing Warrior Ethos in the Nigerian Army: A Panacea for Operational Effectiveness.” The event was organized by the Department of Army Transformation and Innovation.
The COAS, represented by the acting General Officer Commanding, GOC, 8 Division, Brig. Gen. Ibikunle Ajose, expressed the hope that the seminar would address the issue of drug abuse among soldiers, among other issues.
Lagbaja, however, promised troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in Sokoto State of continued support. He pointed out that the Army would provide the needed logistics and guidance for the success of their operations.
The COAS said, “I can assure you of my continuous support to provide the much-needed logistics and guidance required for the execution of your tasks.
“The Nigerian Army has continued to review its tactics, techniques and procedures in order to come up with both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies to defeat these challenges.
“This seminar was, therefore, premised on the need to improve the capacity of the Nigerian Army personnel towards enhancing warrior ethos and the battle-winning mentality.
“It will also highlight the threats of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism in Nigeria.
“In addition, the prevailing incidence of drug and substance abuse among troops deployed in theatres of operation has become quite worrisome. And therefore, necessitates troops’ awareness in a bid to enhance combat effectiveness.”
Lagbaja, therefore, urged commanders at all levels to continue to come up with innovative ideas to upscale their approaches towards improving man management and battle readiness. This, he said, was in line with his command philosophy for the Nigerian Army.
COAS commended the Department of Army Innovation and Transformation for organizing the seminar. He noted that programme would raise necessary operational and situational awareness of the troops.
He said, “I implore you all to remain innovative and committed. By so doing, you would have helped to raise the standard that the Nigerian Army requires to deliver on its constitutional mandate. This event is, therefore, timely and will avail participants a better understanding of the key issues to improve on operational effectiveness.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief of Transformation and Innovation from the Army Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Zakari Abubakar, thanked the COAS. He assured that the department would continue to direct, engage the soldiers. He stressed that they will not relent in efforts towards the realization of pillars of the COAS command philosophy.
Abubakar said, “The seminar is organized to optimize the leadership capacity of junior and middle-class officers. As well as to intensify warrior ethos and check the menace of drug and substance abuse among the troops.”
source: Punch
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