Nigeria Times

By Bridget Agada

The management of disasters in Nigeria has come under public scrutiny in recent times. This is especially so in the light of the various humanitarian crisis that has been experienced in Nigeria, and worthy of mention is the Boko Haram crisis in North-East Nigeria. As a start, this subject would not be understood in its entirety if the agency of government responsible for the management of national emergencies in Nigeria is not highlighted.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was established via Act 12, as amended by Act 50 of 1999, to manage disasters in Nigeria. It has been tackling disaster-related issues through the establishment of concrete structures with the overarching mission to coordinate resources towards efficient and effective disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response in Nigeria.

It acts in the following areas: Coordination, Disaster Risk Reduction, search and rescue, policy and strategy, Geographic Information System, Advocacy, education, administration, finance, and logistics; relief and rehabilitation; planning, research, and forecasting.

Nigeria, as a nation, has suffered from its share of disaster occurrences. For example, between 1992 to 2000, Nigeria recorded about 400 major fire and aircraft disasters involving more than 10,000 people with a death toll of about a thousand-plus, and the quantum of property destroyed was evaluated to be in millions of dollars.

These include flooding and soil erosion, while the human-made ones include dam-failure, maritime disasters, bomb explosions, conflicts occasioning displacement of victims), oil spillage, population explosion, and air crashes. Nigerians have been lucky with earthquakes but not so fortunate with floods, pollution, and oil spillages.

The loss of lives and inefficient disaster management in Nigeria has been a burden too hard for the government to carry. The problem has been compounded by the fact that the citizens lack the basic knowledge of health and safety as well as a disaster avoidance technique. As a result of the inefficiency and apparent shortcomings in the management of disasters and to address the limitation in the scope of the operation of National Emergency Relief Agency NERA, and proffer solutions to the ineffective disaster response in the country, on the side of NERA which was established in by Decree 48 of 1976 by the Federal Government of Nigeria to fight the reoccurrence of disaster and the post effect of the disaster which is death, the federal government of Nigeria held a meeting with stakeholders and leaders of NERA and the outcome metamorphosed to the formation of NEMA for effective management of disaster in Nigeria.

The question is thus: Is NEMA making progress on her mandate? The answer is yes due to the following reasons. Since April 2017 when Engr Mustapha Maihaja came on board as the director-general of the agency, a lot has changed. This much has been attested to my critical stakeholders in the industry. They indeed stated that the policy drive and innovations introduced to the operations of the organization indeed gave it a fresh breath of life.

As a first, NEMA under the leadership of Engr. Mustapha Maihaja established Disaster Response Units (DRUs) to enhance disaster management efforts nationwide further. DRU’s are designated military units established through the instrument of the National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) and charged with the responsibility of providing immediate assistance to civil authorities to reduce further loss of lives and property as well as human suffering during a National Disaster.

This is aside from the fact that efforts are almost completed to put in place Hi-Tech facilities and other infrastructure for an improved and all-encompassing disaster management system for our country. An example is the installation of the Search and Rescue Satellite-aided Tracking (COSPAS-SARSAT) system. COSPAS-SARSAT system, since its inception in 1982, has reportedly saved over 20,000 lives worldwide. The system consists of emergency radio beacons, equipment on satellites in low-earth polar ground receiving stations, also called Local User Terminals (LUTs), Mission Control Centers (MCCs), and Rescue Coordination Centers (RCCs).

It is on record that only three COSPAS-SARSAT technologies exists in the whole of Africa, and one of them is located in the NEMA headquarters in Abuja. This is indeed a rare feat and an example of the leadership drive of the director-general towards ensuring a regime of effective and timely disaster management in Nigeria.

It has also been stated that most disasters resulting in high casualty rates are due to the absence of an early warning mechanism. In this regard, NEMA has established a functional GIS lab for early warning and precision in response to disasters and emergencies. The lab collects spatial data, analyses, and prepares useful information that helps to aid responses to disaster. It is one of the significant facilities of the agency for its disaster risk reduction programme.

The Agency under Maihaja has gone into collaborative pacts with Helicopter operators in the Country, NGOs, INGOs, International, regional, and sub-regional bodies and agencies for both capacity building and technological enhancement in pursuit of a workable preparedness approach to curtailing disasters.

It must be stated that all of these innovations have indeed positioned NEMA as an effective disaster management agency. It is also on record that NEMA under the watch of Engr. Mustapha Maihaja has seen the development of an improved welfare package for its workers that consists of improved insurance and emoluments. This has led to an increase in the productivity level of the staffer in the agency. This is indeed commendable and an indication that the exceptional and proactive leadership provided by Engr. Mustapha Maihaja is indeed yielding dividends and responsible for the various successes recorded by the agency in managing disasters in Nigeria.

NEMA under Maihaja has also implemented measures that ensure unscrupulous elements do not abuse materials meant for the needy. It has eliminated the practice where impostors collect materials intended for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) through the biometric registration of affected persons. Critical stakeholders have recognized this feat as indeed revolutionary.

It is indeed a statement of the fact that NEMA under the watch of Engr. Mustapha Maihaja is indeed making tremendous progress on her mandate of effective disaster management in Nigeria. The director-general has set a worthy example of what sound leadership should be in Nigeria in our quest for socio-economic development.

Agada is a human resource practitioner and wrote from Abuja.

By Lawrence Audu

There was an interesting topic that dominated public discourse recently. It raged with some putting in arguments to support their positions and some against also putting up arguments to support their views.

The contentious issue is the bill seeking for the establishment of the Armed Forces Service Commission (Est.) Bill 2020 (SB 362)” and sponsored by Senator Eyinaya Abaribe, representing Abia South Senatorial District in the National Assembly.

According to the Bill, the appointment of Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Director of Military Intelligence and heads of other arm-bearing security agencies shall be appointed subject to recommendations by the Senate.

I was somewhat lost for words when I read the details of the proposed bill in that the Senate would be vested with the authority to select Service Chiefs in the country. In my opinion, this is not only in poor taste; it is indeed an affront to our sensibilities on how some individuals and organizations would elect to tow the path of a disservice to the country by advancing causes that suits the interest of a few as against national interest.

As a first, a critical question must be asked, questions that border on the constitutional provisions with regards to the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I suppose that the president is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Section 218 Subsection 1 and 2 expressly states that “the powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall include the power to determine the operational use of the Armed Forces of the Federation; (2) power to appoint the Chief of Defense Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff and heads of any other branches of the Armed Forces of Federation as may be established by an Act of the National Assembly.

This is the constitutional provisions with regards to the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and I suppose that the constitution is that which defines our actions and inactions in Nigeria. I want to assume that there are indeed lawyers in the National Assembly that ought to have raised a point of order when Senator Eyinaya Abaribe made his submissions at plenary. And to think that the bill has passed second reading beats my imagination because if indeed it scales through, the Senate would have carried out a coup against the constitution.

This is my argument: the bill is defective. It should not be a topic for discussion in the first instance because the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as an institution is not meant to be subjected to the whims and caprices of politicians.

If this has been the case, I am not sure we would have had professional Armed Forces that is ranked as the 43rd best in the world in terms of professionalism and military strength. I suppose the Senate in their wisdom does not see the need for protecting national assets in the country, and they have elected to look at things from the prism of their selfish interest.

My concern about this bill is the fact that given what we know about how things can sometimes be in Nigeria, there is every possibility that there is an overarching objective behind the bill and one not in the overall national interest.

As interesting as this might sound, the Armed Forces Service Commission bill reminds one of the infamous third term agenda of the Olusegun Obasanjo era. If you would recall, the National Assembly was where all the manipulations and scheming took place with lots of monies stashed in bags and distributed to our distinguished Senators. As usual, the debate for the third term took center stage, and there were those in favor and those against. And at the end of the day, the third term agenda was dropped.

It is, therefore, my considered opinion that such a scenario would repeat itself if it is not already happening. I know that ethnic and religious champions have been mobilized by the sponsors of the bill to display ethnic and religious sentiments in the composition of the Service Chiefs in the country at the expense of merit.

The actions of the Senate can also be term a coup against democracy because attempting to misinterpret the law to suit their purpose is very uncharitable. In the first instance, there is no basis for such a bill, let alone debating it on the floor of the Senate. This is where I think the leadership of the Senate has failed Nigerians. They have acted in a way that sends shivers down our spine in the sense that the National Assembly is now the center of anti-Nigerian scheming and manipulations.

This is on the heels that the ill-fated call for the sack of Service Chiefs was deafening in the National Assembly. It was such an embarrassing situation that called to question the sincerity and commitment of our distinguished Senators to the growth and development of Nigeria. Suffice to add that their arguments were bland. And to make matters worse, the Senate made a media show of the whole clamor and attempting to discredit the executive arm of government.

We must learn to call spade and spade, and this much the leadership of the Senate has realized with the barrage of criticism it has received for attempting to destroy a revered institution such as the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If not for anything, the leadership of the Senate ought to have been prudent with the personality of the sponsor of the bill.

It is a known fact that the sponsor of the bill is a known ethnic champion whose motives have never been in the national interest, but that of his geopolitical region. This is given the fact that it was he who stood as surety for Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, and so many other anomalies associated with him.

In conclusion, the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is one of our most cherished institutions that has brought honor to the country. It has been engaged in internal security operations alongside its constitutionally recognized role of protecting the country from external aggressions. What more can we ask for? And to think that some elements within the National Assembly have allowed themselves to be used by those that have elected to ruin Nigeria by this futile attempt to break and make a caricature of the Armed Forces in Nigeria.

This doesn’t make sense, and the leadership of the National Assembly must do well to desist from the attempt to destroy a strategic National and Professional Asset that has stood the test of time since the creation of Nigeria. The National Assembly must not lose sight of its functions as clearly spelled out in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and must align with the strategic goals of ensuring growth and sustainable development. And it must save its face from this despicable attempt at usurping the powers of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces with regards to the appointment of Service Chiefs in the country.

By Deborah Obeweh
 
In the history of terrorism and the fight against insurgency the world over, few countries are able to beat their chests to say they have succeeded in crushing terrorists in record time like Nigeria has done under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Since President Buhari promised during the inauguration of his administration to relocate the operational command of the armed forces to the areas ravaged by the activities of the insurgents, the world watched to see if the strategy could usher in a glimmer of hope in an asymmetrical war that has defied all known tactics for winning a conventional war.
This is because most who have been involved or have experienced insurgency and terrorism know how different it is from a conventional warfare and realize that it takes more than a sophisticated armory or superior firepower to crush.
World powers like the US and Russia have found out that the war against insurgents is different from a conventional war because, due to how it starts, is fought in a terrain better known by the insurgents.
The efficacy of weapons is therefore hampered by the undulating terrain like hills, valleys, forests and creeks; access to the fortresses of the insurgents is made difficult with laying of land mines and due to proximity to civilian settlements. There is also the inability of members of surrounding communities to cooperate with troops due to fear and lastly, peculiarity of the illogic the drives the insurgency.
All these factors affected the initial operations of Nigerian troops sent to fight the insurgents and like it happened to US troops in other countries, Nigerian troops were being ambushed and killed and many had to run to other countries for their safety.
Worse still, communities and local government were being captured and a sizeable part of the country was brought under the control of the insurgents.
But the appointment of Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai as the chief of army staff in 2015 helped to changed all that; it raised the hope that Nigeria was about to do something different giving his approach and tactic towards the fight.
The Nigerian government had made a promise to end the scourge within a given time and Gen. Buratai resolved to achieve that.
Here was Nigeria, which had in the past admitted to not possessing modern weapons and a general lack of confidence haunting its troops now talking tough and giving a deadline for the defeat of insurgency.
And to the surprise of many nations, Nigeria was able to achieve and by December 2015, was able push the insurgents out of the territories they were occupying, destroy their weapons, set captives held by them free, liquidate many of their top commanders and pushing the insurgents to the fringes.
The world immediately took an interest in Nigeria because this is an area where many nations have failed.
The US an acclaimed world power failed woefully in several wars against terrorists and insurgency that it has come to learn to tread carefully when the issues in other nations bother on the twin evil.
Right form its intervention in Iraq to its recent in Syria, the strategy adopted by the US have not been that effective. This has not been helped by its meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign states or resort to different standards depending on the countries concerned.
Its intervention have been woeful that most times it is even blamed for escalating the crises in such countries as it happened in Iraq and Syria.
The Soviet Union had also not fared better when it comes to fighting terrorism,
It exhibited a lack of preparedness to fight counter-insurgency war when it went into Afghanistan.
It was reported that in 1985, Soviet forces lost 18 aircraft and 53 helicopters,  before the introduction of the Stinger shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles into the war.
In Somalia the US-led military operation in 1992–93 which culminated in the Battle of Mogadishu on October 3–4, 1993,  18 U.S. soldiers and hundreds of Somali militia fighters and civilians were killed.
Under international pressure, the UN humanitarian effort, known as Operation Provide Relief, arrived in Somalia in April 1992.Various Somali militias however disregarded the cease-fire that brought the UN intervention and engaged in extensive fighting as well as in large-scale hijacking and looting of international food convoys.
 
Hence the US proposed to the United Nations that American combat troops be sent to Somalia to protect aid workers which the UN accepted and on December 9, 1992, a force of about 25,000 U.S. troops began to arrive in Somalia.
The already unstable situation took a turn for the worse when 24 Pakistani soldiers were ambushed and killed while inspecting a weapons-storage facility.
On October 3, 1993, the U.S. forces in an attempt to capture Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu, where the targets were thought to be meeting went awry.
After 17 hours of continuous fighting, the surviving U.S. troops were finally rescued by an international force but the battle left 18 U.S soldiers dead and 84 wounded.
Soon after the incident at Mogadishu, the US withdrew all its troops from Somalia and a year later UN troops were also withdrawn, leaving the country engulfed in clan warfare.
This is in sharp contrast to what is taking place in Nigeria where within a short while after taking over, the Buhari administration crushed the erstwhile dreaded Boko Haram insurgents by taking the fight to their territories.
Within three months after Buratai moved troops to the theatre of war, the minister of information, Lai Mohamed announced that the insurgents were technically defeated and degraded.
This is because much success was recorded after troops were mobilized to enter right inside the fortresses of the terrorists at Sambisa Forest and the terrorists were fled and were reduced to launching attacks on soft targets to prove their existence.
Since 2015 when the current administration was inaugurated, so much effort was put in place to ensure the life of the citizenry is secured.
General Tukur Yusuf  Buratai on assumption of office got the troops ready for action and introduced reforms and  strategies which gave the military upper hand as they took the insurgents by surprise in their fortress which saw the Boko Haram terrorists running for dear lives.
Complaints about insufficient weaponry became a thing of the past as weapons were procured at speed and mobilized across the theatre of war.
There was confidence building as the low morale of the army gave way to high spirits as men and officers which under the previous dispensation were quitting due to lack of confidence became encouraged and fought in defense of their fatherland.
The military took the dreaded Sambisa forest and established a base at Camp Zairo as the insurgents on seeing superior fire power and war strategies surrendered and began to fight among themselves. 
Gwoza a local government headquarters  and 13 other local governments which were previously captured by the insurgents and designated the capital of the Caliphate were recaptured by Nigerian troops and its people liberated.
Local governments areas in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States that were under Boko Haran were liberated and the insurgents were pursued to precincts on the fringes of the Nigerian border and began to prey on soft targets to be able to eat
Much has been achieved with the release of the over hundred Chinok girls and return of the other set stolen from Dapchi within days.  This is a far departure from the attitude in the previous era when more than three weeks were wasted before the administration could even admit that some girls from Chibok were abducted.
Camps for Internally Displaced Persons IDPs were emptied as  more persons in such camps relocated to their recaptured communities living normal lives as before. 
 

Obeweh is a psychologist and wrote from GCU, London Campus, United Kingdom

By Evangelist Sunday Attah

A larger percentage of the world’s population lives below the poverty line. As nations grapple with how to overcome this, they are not spared from the further debilitating and catastrophic effects of other disasters that aggravate the pitiable conditions of the poor and even increasing their number. Due to this, there have been injunctions by the major religions on assisting the poor and coming to the aid of the needy. In Nigeria, while organizations and individuals have taken it upon themselves to intervene in various ways to alleviate the sufferings of the poor, the combined effect of natural and man-made disasters has emphasized the need for more of such efforts. Considering the enormity of the problems on ground, many have given up while others who have managed to remain and have had their resources drained.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was set up by the government to intervene in emergency situations and has been doing so over the years but with the coming of Engr. Mustapha Maihaja, there seems to be an understanding on the part of the agency that the role NEMA is supposed to play goes beyond living up to government’s mandate but to serve humanity and do the will of God. In the Bible, the question was asked, who should be considered a nieghbour and Jesus Christ responded with a parable of the good Samaritan in which the assistance of a foreigner categorized as an enemy qualified him to be regarded as the neighbour of the slain traveller who was ignored by his brothers and those supposedly close to him in his time of distress.

If the question, ‘who is your neigbour?’ is to be put to the very weak and poor in Nigeria today, regardless of religion, ethnic group or geo-political zone, the response would be unanimous: Maihaja.
This is because since the coming of Engr Mustapha Maihaja as the Director General of NEMA, the agency has responded to emergency situations and has moved swiftly to help the needy in a way that has qualified it to be seen as the neighbour of the poor, vulnerable and weak in the society.

The agency has been able to achieve these from the observation of analysts on four major fronts, namely, through its response to disasters and emergencies, constant reaching out to the distressed, providing succor to the weak and poor through social protection intervention measures.
In Deutronomy, the Bible says: “ For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land and in ACTS 20: 35 it says. “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

In Islam, the Hadith stated that Hadrat Abdullah Bin Umar (Radiyallahu Anhu) reported Allah’s Messenger(peace be upon him) as saying, ”There are some servants of Allah the Almighty whom He has bestowed with special blessings by which they help His servants. As long as they help people with their wealth and influence, Allah the Almighty keeps bestowing His blessings on them. If anyone of them keeps away from helping people then Allah the Almighty withdraws His blessings from him and transfers it to some more deserving person. “ 

And according to Hadrat Abu Hurayra(Radiyallahu Anhu), Allah’s Messenger(peace be upon him): “Whoever relieves a believer of a difficulty from the difficulties of this world, Allah shall relieve for him a difficulty from the difficulties of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever lightens the burden of someone in difficulty , Allah shall lighten his burden in this life and the next.”
Disasters and emergencies as is well known are of two different kinds, but NEMA has positioned itself to take up the challenges with equal adroitness. The agency’s response to natural disasters like flood and emergency situation caused by human activities like the insurgency in the North East have received high élan an commendation both within and outside the shores of the country.

In the former category, NEMA has shown sensitivity and concern to the plight of those ravaged by natural disasters that its intervention in the areas has so mitigated the effect of the disasters that the victims have been brought back to normal lives leaving no room for regrets.
It is common knowledge that in Nigeria, several communities in several states during the rainy seasons, are ravaged by floods due to heavy rains and release of water from some dams. This has usually leaves a large part of the population  in the throes of the devastation from loss of lives, homes and other property.
Several states in Nigerian including Benue, Niger, Kaduna, Gombe, Plateau and others are rendered homeless and citizens reduced to destitute.
But with the intervention of NEMA which lately has even gone head to take proactive steps by warning communities of likely floods and giving them adequate advice on preventive measures, much of the effect of the devastation has been reduced.

The agency has helped communities and individuals with relief material to return to their bases and start new lives without allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by the devastation of the disasters.
 
 
 
On the man made disasters especially the hardship caused by the effects of insurgency in the North eastern part of the country, the various initiatives employed by NEMA have had tremendous impact on the lives of those that have been affected by the crisis in the area. NEMA has been able to establish bases in terms of reaching out in several villages, communities, and hamlets with food items, clothes, medications and other relief materials that the impact of NEMA in North-East Nigeria has been commended in several fora in that regard.
Does this line of action also answer to a call? Yes. In Deutronomy 15:17 it says, “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.”
And in Islam it says, “Give to the near of kin his due, and also to the needy and the wayfarers. Do not squander your wealth wastefully; for those who squander wastefully are Satan’s brothers, and Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord. (17:26 – 27).
 

Not done with that, the agency lately moved ahead and exercised its mandate to tackle humanitarian issues emanating from ecological devastation in the country.
This is one area that has been neglected in the past but with the coming of Maihaja, realizing the number of people affected and the effect on the general well being of the citizenry, NEMA took up the responsibility. NEMA’s Establishment Act empowers it to cover ecological problems hence the agency took up the mandate seriously as many parts of the country are suffering from ecological devastation.
The southern parts of the country suffer from erosion, the central part of the country suffers from the activities of miners and in the north there is the age long problem of desertification.
The intervention by NEMA has reduced the hardship caused by each or a combination of these disasters and has brought succour and relief to the communities and individuals living in these areas.
This also has a spiritual background as the Bible says in Proverbs 19: 17 that “ Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed and in 1 John 3: 17-18, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
In Islam, Safwan ibn Salim related that the Prophet said: “Anyone who looks after and works for a widow and a poor person is like a warrior fighting for Allah’s cause, or like a person who fasts during the day and prays all night. (Bukhari) and Anas related that the Prophet said: If any Muslim plants something or sows seed from which a man, a bird or an animal eats, it counts as a charity for him. (Bukhari, Muslim)

NEMA under Maihaja has also reached out to the distressed. When Nigerians were being humiliated and put under harsh conditions for repatriation in Libya, the agency felt concerned and moved into action.
This has seen the agency participating in the repatriation and rehabilitation of Nigerian refugees from Libya through airlift of returnees from Tripoli to Port Harcourt, fact-finding negotiation mission to Libya, international and local media and publicity and others. The agency through its distribution of relief material to communities has helped in mitigating the suffering of the poor and the weak,
Again this lies at the background of the love for one another enjoined by the two major religions in Nigeria, proving that NEMA under Maihaja is God-sent.

Attah wrote this piece from Abuja.

By Abubakar Tsav

The world is replete with very many tinges of experiences. A man’s bad deeds lives long after his demise, but his good deeds are interred with his bones. President Muhammadu Buhari accepted the burden of leading Nigeria at a time in its history every aspect of existence in the country was in extreme shambles.

It is repeating the obvious to say, the Military is the strength of every nation. The Army is its first treasured gold and hub of preserving and securing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a nation from external aggressors. The Army is the foremost in many ways and ought to pass fitness test all the times to respond to security emergencies.

Unfortunately, President Buhari met a Nigerian Army that was completely in disarray and neglected in infrastructural development; signposted by defaced and dilapidated barracks, ill-equipped armouries and populated by unprofessional and undisciplined soldiers. Worse of it all, the Nigerian Army was politicized, enmeshed in partisanship and polarized along Nigeria’s faultlines of ethnicity, religion and regionalism.

Equally saddening was the reality that Nigerian soldiers who were formally famed nationally and globally for their gallant exploits in wars and Peace-Keeping Missions could no longer boast of such accomplishments. Even combating the menace of Boko Haram terrorism and other insurrections in the country was a big challenge to soldiers. Troops disgracefully faltered many times on the battlefield in the face of enemy forces.

The dignity of the Nigerian Army was rubbished by a basketful complaints of favoritism in postings, stalled promotions, unpaid salaries, denial of basic allowances, poor or non-existent welfare packages; lack of motivational incentives to soldiers deployed on special assignments on Internal Security (IS), absence of a reward system for excellence, brazen abuse of Rules of Engagement (ROE), widespread professional misconduct and constant mutinies.

In effect, Nigeria operated and paraded a demoralized and depressed Army, where promotions were earned based on a soldier’s link or affinity with the President or other top notchers in Government. A soldier’s hard work was not recognized and appreciated with a promotion as reward for excellence unless he either knows ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo or former President Goodluck Jonathan, the serving Presidents of Nigeria at that time.

Military Guard rooms were looking better than barracks where soldiers and their families were living. Army offices across the country were pigsties, and like dwelling places for animals.

The most fatal blow on the Nigerian Army was the deep-seated issue of religion and ethnicity. They became strong factors in the force to the extent that it gravely affected the operations of the Army as an institution; shattered the coherence and the cord of comradeship among soldiers. Infinitely politicized, the Nigerian Army was more enthusiastic in performing political duties than their constitutionally assigned professional roles.

So, officers and soldiers had redirected their loyalty and patriotism to specific political parties which their brothers and sisters professed. It was not to Nigeria, the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Army leadership or field Commanders. The productivity of soldiers was on a steady, generous and dangerous decline in a sphere of the Nigerian Army operations.

President Buhari could not accept the eroded values and degradation of the Nigerian Army. He knew he owes Nigerians and the Nigerian Army a sacred obligation to change its status of a degenerated Army to a responsive, responsible and professional Army.

But the President needed a marksman for the job. Thus, came the appointment of Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai, as the Chief of Army Staff and leader of the Counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria. The COAS was briefed by his Commander-In-Chief on the task at hand. But ab initio, Gen. Buratai was also aware that he needed a standard Nigerian Army to deploy as solution to the countless security challenges which were tormenting the nation.

Having carved a niche for himself as a professional soldier of enviable standing, Gen. Buratai, also a notable administrative guru, launched far-reaching reforms and innovations in the Nigerian Army. And he followed their implementation reverently and meticulously.

Within a short time, the Army began to recover its lost glory and trampled shadows. Today, and with every sense of pride, the narrative of the institution of the Nigerian Army has changed for the better. Its reputation has soared incredibly. It is attested by the sustained successes of troops over Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorism in the Northeast; soldiers’ professional candour, discipline and adherence to the appropriate code of service loyalty anywhere they serve.

And as long as Gen. Buratai is on the saddle, he has maintained the tempo and is improving it with each passing day. One can assert with certainty, that so long as Gen. Buratai continues to remain on the saddle, the Nigerian Army will keep getting better and excelling in all tasks assigned to it, as it sails gradually to the destination of perfection.

A peep into Gen. Buratai’s leadership of the Nigerian Army shows a pleasing reversal of all the aforementioned odds and negativities, which demoralized, afflicted and hindered our soldiers from performing their professional duties. He has succeeded in insulating our soldiers from partisan politics. Even when on Election Duty, soldiers remained apolitical and neutral in the exercise of their duties as recently confirmed by the Ebonyi state Governor, Chief David Umahi while assessing the Army’s participation in the 2019 general elections.

Salaries and allowances of troops are paid regularly and promptly; almost every Army Barrack in the country has undergone renovation; new offices have been built for the Army and old ones renovated; the reward system based on excellence has been restored and very active. Even on the battlefield, Gen. Buratai decorates soldiers who have displayed exceptional courage and gallantry in terrorism combats.

Soldiers need not to know Mr. President or have affinity with him to have their promotions effected and timely. All that is required of a soldier is his loyalty, dedication to duty and hard work to earn what he deserves.

Army Hospitals have been animated and stocked with drugs and other modern medical equipment for soldiers and their families. In -service training of soldiers is open to all indiscriminately and once a soldier qualifies or is due for refresher courses, he does not lobby anybody to get the approval. New training institutions like the Nigerian Army Aviation School and the Nigerian Army University, Biu have been established under the leadership of Gen. Buratai.

Gen. Buratai has introduced multiple incentive packages for the Nigerian Army. These are initiatives that ginger performance enhancement for soldiers. Interestingly, the Army Chief has repositioned the Nigerian Army in a manner that it has developed its internal capacity to contribute to the economic development agenda of the present political leadership of Nigeria under President Buhari.

Besides establishing new Army Divisions and Units, Gen. Buratai’s leadership has ventured into economic initiatives like the Nigeria Army Farm and Ranches; the Nigerian Army Post-Service Housing Development Limited; the Command Engineering Depot; the Nigerian Army Property Limited and the Nigerian Army Welfare Guarantee Limited among others. These economic concerns are the first in the history of Nigerian Army and designed to serve both the Army and the Nigerian public.

Therefore, the arrival of President Buhari on the leadership podium of Nigeria and the right choice of Gen. Buratai as the COAS have been the saving grace of the Nigerian Army, which was fast sinking into oblivion. The duo have remained the best thing to have ever happened to the Nigerian Army.

Every soldier today looks at himself with pride and dignity. Troops no longer shirk at the warfront, but fight the enemies even at the cost of their lives. It is not controvertible that the Nigerian Army today stands as one of the best in Africa. There is every optimism that it can still be the best in considering the various limitations in terms of technology. Nigerians believe it can be the overall in the world one day and Gen. Buratai can make it possible as evident in his determination to leave a legacy for the nation.

Tsav who was Commissioner of Police in Lagos and served at the Public Complaints Commission, Abuja wrote from Makurdi, Benue State.