The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, has assured Nigerians that the Army will not succumb to calls by some powerful interest blocs to disrupt democratic governance in the country.
He stated this in his opening remarks at the 2024 Chief of Army Staff combined second and third quarters conference held in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.
He pointed out that the Nigerian Army is still struggling to rebuild its integrity after many years of military control, and thus is unwilling to lose the prestige it has gained over the last 25 years of being out of power.
The COAS, speaking against the backdrop of some people’s requests for military intervention during the August 1-10 #EndbadGovernance protest, promised to guarantee that the Army works for a united and secure country.
“Another pertinent issue that came up during the recent protest is the call for undemocratic intervention in governance by the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“Although one can say this was coming from young Nigerians who never experienced the era of Nigeria’s extensive military rule and the concerted struggle by heroes and heroines of our current democratic dispensation to get the Nation on its current path.
“As Chief of Army Staff, my simple response to the call is, ‘Thanks, but no thanks!’ The Nigerian Army will not allow itself to be used to undemocratically sail some interests to power.
“As the Service that received the most image bashing as a fallout of previous military interventions in Nigeria, the Nigerian Army is not poised to lose the new prestige it has painstakingly built in the past 25 years,” Lagbaja said.
He added that, in addition to tackling physical insecurity such as terrorism, banditry, crude oil theft, and others, the Nigerian Army was prepared to deal with the challenge of the food crisis, which might lead to physical security difficulties. To that end, Lagbaja disclosed that, in order to ensure food security, the Nigerian Army was launching major food production in collaboration with the government and the commercial sector.
“Evidently, the situation that led to the protest seems to have settled, but the Nigerian Army understands that the issue of food security will remain on the front burner of our national security policy and discussions for a while.
“As a way of strengthening its soft power approach to resolving Nigeria’s food security challenge, the Nigerian Army will, in the coming days, review its agricultural policy to better position the Nigerian Army Farms and Ranches Limited to significantly boost crop production so that the Army can release grains into the market at highly subsidized rate in support of government efforts.
“Furthermore, the Army Headquarters is reviewing some proposals for partnerships with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government and reputable private organizations on how best to collaborate to resolve the food crisis in the country.
