End Insecurity, Stop Killings As Soon As Possible, TY Danjuma Tells Service Chiefs

A former Minister of Defence, Lt-Gen. TY Danjuma has tasked the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Christopher Musa, and other service chiefs on the urgent need to end terrorism, banditry and other security challenges besetting the country.

While describing the situation as “a pandemic”, the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) said the military high command has “no excuses” not to tame the ugly trend.

The elder statesman gave the charge at the presentation of a book by Major General Solomon Udounwa (rtd) titled: ‘Big Boots: Lessons From My Military Service’. Danjuma, who was the chairman of the occasion, said: “Number one problem today is security. We must end the pandemic and stop the killings that are going on in our country as soon as possible.

“Those of you who are still serving have no excuses; absolutely none!” In his response, the CDS assured of the readiness of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) to restore peace, order and security across the country.

“Let me at least also mention to our distinguished chairman that the armed forces of Nigeria is positioned, is willing, dedicated and committed in ensuring that we restore peace and security in our own dear country.

We shall not be deterred. “There are going to be challenges, yes, but that’s why we’re here. I want to assure you that we have learnt a lot from your record, very, very distinguished senior officers that have modelled us all through the years.

We cannot afford to fail and we will not fail,” the defence chief noted. Speaking on what inspired him to write, the author said: “Well, I was motivated by a lot of factors. The first one is that the military profession thrives on experiential learning.

“That is to say, younger generations of military officers and soldiers require, you know, the experiences of those who served before them to learn whether it’s issues of strategy, administration, operational management, and the rest.

“You know, so if you don’t document your experiences, that could be lost and then those coming behind you might not be able to learn from all the exposure and all the training that you had while in service.

“So, my book is going to be of interest to serving personnel, to military historians, to the, you know, to the academia, you know, for people who are interested in national and international security affairs, and for the general public. So, that was the motivation.”