The Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya, has stated in no uncertain terms that he would no longer accept excuses for underperformance by Army Commanders in various theatres of operations.
The COAS’ stance was contained in his address at the opening ceremony of the Chief of Army Staff Combined Second and Third Quarter Conference 2021 held in Abuja, where he charged Army Commanders to seize initiatives and take decisive actions to defeat threats in their respective areas of responsibility.
TheFact Nigeria learns that The Chief of Army Staff combined Second and Third Quarter Conference 2021 is first edition of the conference under Gen Yahaya as the Chief of Army Staff, and that the quarterly programme of the Nigerian Army brings together Principal Staff Officers, General Officers Commanding, Commandants of Strategic Army formations and operational commanders to brainstorm and interact with the Chief of Army Staff on the state of affairs of the Nigerian Army and to review its plans for the next quarter.
The COAS reiteratwd that the Nigerian Army under his watch will remain resolute and continue to chart progressive paths towards tackling the security challenge confronting the country.
He averred that he had directed that serious attention will be given to sustaining and improving the tempo in all ongoing Nigerian Army operations across the country.
“I have also directed for the conduct of special operations especially in the north central and north west regions. Commanders must therefore glean from my Command Philosophy to ensure that operational and administrative proficiencies of the Nigerian army units and formations are sustained and improved upon.
“Commanders must seize initiatives and Commanders must take initiatives, they must take decisive actions to defeat the threats in their respective AORs. I will not again take or accept no excuses. Gentlemen, failure is failure irrespective of the circumstances”, Yahaya said.
The Army Chief, while acknowledging the fact that there were logistics constraints affecting operations across the country, also disclosed that efforts were in progress to provide combat enablers that would enhance and boost military operations.
He addeded that concerted efforts were being made to eliminate the threat of improvised explosive devices which has been a major impediment to troops and the operations in Operation Hadin Kai.
Gen. Faruk Yahaya further emphasized the imperative of training and retraining of troops for operational efficiency, and reiterated his determination to rebuild fighting skills, capacity, confidence and morale of troops across theatre of operations through “training and more training”.
A major highlight at the ceremony which begins a 3-day conference themed, “Developing Enduring Strategy to Accomplish Assigned Mission in a Joint Environment”, was the commissioning of seven Satellite Communication Vehicles and conferment of special awards to some distinguished officers.
Some of the awardees include the guest lecturer at the event, Maj Gen Lawrence Ngubane (rtd) who delivered a lecture titled, “Leadership Development as a Panacea for Accomplishing Mission in a Joint Environment”, Lt Gen. Adeosun (rtd), and the current Commandant of Nigerian Defence Academy, Maj Gen Ibrahim Manu. Gen. Yusuf had the award of Knight of the National Order of Chad conferred on him by the Government of the Republic of Chad for his outstanding performance during his time as the Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, headquartered in Ndjamena, Chad Republic.
