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Nigeria @60: Nigerian Army has played its part effectively – Buratai
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen.
Tukur Buratai, says the Nigerian Army has discharged its constitutional
responsibilities effectively in defending the sanctity and integrity of Nigeria
in the last 60 years.
Buratai, while speaking to the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the country’s journey so far at 60, said the
army would also continue to ensure that the unity of Nigeria is not
compromised.
He said that the Nigerian army
had since pre-independence played critical roles in ensuring the country’s
corporate existence as well as contributing to its economic, political and
socio-economic development.
He said that the participation of
the army in various conflicts within and outside the country was significant,
adding that it had held the country together as a united and indivisible
country.
According to him, if you look at
our constitutional role and of course vis-a-vis our defence priority, the
defence of Nigeria from external aggression is number one priority and to
maintain her territorial integrity is second.
“These key priorities are
fundamental and this has manifested in the successful prosecution of the
Nigerian civil war; an unfortunate war of the brothers with unfortunate
consequences of war as it should be.
“At the end of the war, it has
been declared no victor, no vanquish but the memory still lingers on in terms
of the human casualties, the economic consequences and so on.
“Equally, over the years, we have
participated in several internal security operations to ensure that the country
does not disintegrate and remains one.
“This has been done very
successfully when you talk of the western region crisis, the Maitatsine crisis,
the Taliban crisis and what we are facing today, the Boko Haram crisis.
“The Nigerian army has kept the
country united, strong and it has further enhanced the image of the country
with the patriotic and gallant performance of our troops across the various
theatres of operation,’’ he said.
The army chief commended officers
and men who worked tirelessly to ensure that Nigeria remained one and secured
in spite of the security challenges over the years.
He added that the country was
reaping from their patriotic stand.
“Nigeria is still waxing
stronger, we have gone through different challenges in terms of the economic
and political turbulence and this has been stabilised for now as far as I am
concerned.
“With more resilience, with more support from
the public, we will ensure we make a great difference and the challenges that
we are facing now will be a thing of the past,’’ he said. (NAN)