By Ajogwu Jerry Ochada.
The Nigerian Army (NA) is rated amongst the top most organized military institution in the world and this global rating further gained momentum upon the assumption of duties by the incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai; an indefatigable trailblazer who reformed the NA beyond the wildest anticipation of his detractors most especially the 5th columnists and fans of the now defeated Boko Haram Terrorists.
It is now a popular parlance in the court of public opinion (within Nigeria and abroad) positing that “the history of Nigerian Army cannot be complete without the successes recorded by General Buratai”.
It is on record that the present Chief of Army Staff mounted the podium to lead troops at a time Boko Haram insurgency was holding sway on the frontiers of the most populous black nation and it did not spare neighbouring countries. Nigeria was sinking on a daily account with incessant cases of bomb blasts and suicide bombing activities which gradually filtered into the capital city, Abuja. The proactive nature and military prowess of President Muhammadu Buhari a retired but not tired army General through the timely appointment of the revered Buratai saved Nigeria from eventual collapse.
Today, the once upon a time theatre of war (Nigeria’s Northeast region) is now a safer haven and a lucid attestation to this fact is the hosting of Nigerian Army Day Celebration 2018 in Mungono, a hitherto stronghold of Boko Haram insurgents. The successes recorded so far, so good was ably facilitated by the leadership idiosyncrasy of the selfless / dogged fighter alongside his officers and men who are his greatest assets of which he always cherished and rewarded at the slightest opportunity.
In other words, the various success story recorded by troops of the Nigerian army in the front line became a reality through the boosting of their morale by General Tukur Buratai; the man who came, saw and is conquering. For General Buratai, the welfare of his men is not an item to toy with in his list of preference and he is not relenting in this approach which he commenced immediately he took over as the helmsman of the best infantry army in the world.
Recall that prior to his appointment, his predecessors hired mercenaries to help the country in curbing the ugly menace of terrorism that was choking the fortunes of Nigeria.
Buratai reversed the standing order immediately he assumed duty because according to his rigid but professionally oriented idealism, it is militarily sacrilegious for the most revered infantry troop in the world to hire mercenaries to help crush criminal elements. He embarked on the reformation of the Army by encouraging his troops through an improved welfare package, purchase of state-of-the-art weapons, training and retraining of troops, prompt payments of salaries and remunerations to mention but a few.
The style adopted by Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai is now a paradigm that will continue to guide military actors all over the world because within three years he succeeded alongside his troops in defeating Boko Haram insurgency; a terrorist group rated as third most deadly in the world aside ISIS and Al-Qeda.
General Buratai did not achieve these feat alone; he was able to actualize his vision “to have a professionally responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles” through the joint cooperation of his officers and men who he never hesitated to reward.
It is also worthy of note that as the Army Chief, Buratai did not embrace the comfort of his office located at the Army Headquarters in Abuja, he was always in the theatre fighting the insurgents on the same side with his troops and retiring at night to sleep in the trenches; indeed he is a leader by example. Unlike his predecessors, he did not sit back to give orders, he prefers to be present in the Theatre to encourage his troops and reward those who distinguished themselves in their line of duties.
Recall that before Lt. Col. Abu Ali paid the supreme price, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai personally presented an award of excellence for liberating conquered territories to him. The award was conferred on the deceased in the then Theatre of war; as troops progressed with the onslaught not in a luxurious ceremony organized in a 5-star hotel. This is just a mere pointer to how Buratai can honour and reward any of his officers who distinguished themselves through zealous commitments and hard work.
Recently, during the 2019 Nigerian Army Day Celebration which held in Lagos State, the Chief of Army Staff embraced the opportunity to reward his subordinates and retired service men who distinguished themselves through selfless service to their fatherland; a world war II veteran, retired private Aduku Adama the oldest surviving soldier was also rewarded. The Chief of Training and Operations (CTOP), Army, then Major General Lamidi Adeosun and Brigadier General AB Biu, General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander Sector 1 Operation LAFIYA DOLE Maiduguri were among the few officers who won the Chief of Army Staff Medals for their distinguished contributions especially in respect to counter terrorism operations.
In a swift reaction, President Muhammadu Buhari due to the recommendation of the COAS approved accelerated promotion for the senior officers and this laudable development birthed a new dawn for many critics and pundits who are not in tune with the regimental system in Nigeria.
During my short stint as a Defence Correspondent, I was opportune to study and worked closely with the then Major General Adeosun who is now a Lieutenant General. My last official engagement with the CTOP was during the last Id-El-Fitr celebrations (see my piece ‘Sallah Beyond The Trenches’ published after the event) of which we departed the Army Headquarters on the eve of Sallah for a tour of the Northwest region of Nigeria presently faced with inimical activities of armed bandits. We arrived Zamfara State at about 1:05am on the day of Sallah and rested for few hours before commencing the tour of the Northwest with a debut visit to Kauran Namoda where Gen Adeosun interacted with front line troops and boosted their morale. I recall vividly when we retired to the State Capital, Gusau where he represented the COAS during a courtesy visit, the State Governor lamented about the closure of Zamfara –Sokoto – Batsari routes linking the State due to the activities of armed bandits. The following day, Gen Adeosun mobilized troops and we journeyed through that route on our way to Katsina from Zamfara State during the tour which he vowed to reopen the road. The journey was a great success and we toured the Northwest up to Maradi, a bordering town in Niger Republic. Gen Adeosun who was acting on the orders of General Buratai who was at that time in the front line of the Northeast never hesitated to stop and address the troops at every military formation we came across in the Northwest. At every interaction with troops, Gen. Lamidi Adeosun’s first remarks was a reading of the COAS Goodwill Message to the troops. I saw the real vision of a military officer par excellence in the lifestyle, character and professional posture of General Adeosun and it did not occur to me a surprise when I read news of his accelerated promotion on Monday 9 July 2019 through a press release by the acting Army Spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa and the following lines as contained in that release caught my attention:
“The President, Commander – in – Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the accelerated promotion of two senior officers and a subaltern of the Nigerian Army. The officers are granted promotion for their extra-ordinary feats, courage, examplary leadership, loyalty, uncommon commitment and valour in the counter insurgency operation in the North Eastern part of the country”.
For General Biu, his promotion is another proof of his professional contributions and selfless disposition in the fight against insurgency in Nigeria’s Northeast.
As a Commander of Sector 1 Operation Lafiya Dole, he performed beyond imaginable expectations and succeeded in launching another onslaught against the now dissipated insurgents. The strategy he launched was tagged ‘Operation Halaka’ which climaxed with the crushing of many insurgents while their commanders (Amir) fled and relocated from Nigeria as a result of superior power showcased by the ever gallant troops of the Nigerian Army.
Due to effective coordination in line with the leadership discretion of General Tukur Buratai, Boko Haram insurgency is now history and the new dimension of terrorism sponsored by the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) was accurately labeled by the COAS as “the last kick of a dying horse”.
Conclusively, the overwhelming contributions of the duo (Lamidi and Biu) earned them well deserved accolades through the medals bestowed on the senior officers by General Buratai and the onward accelerated promotion by Mr President.
The hullabaloo in some section of the media is needless hence such persons who are not abreast with the regimental system of military hierarchy are quick to display shaming ignorance and narrowed stance. I strongly recommend journalists (including Defence Correspondents) to learn the unfolding intricacies of their beat by shunning the bandwagons of colleagues or accidental media practitioners or better still self acclaimed journalists who are full of misinformation tantamount of misleading the gullible.
It is also instructive for many critics of the recent promotion to be armed with undiluted fact based on antecedents before flooding the media and cyberspace with erroneous information.
I wish to applaud the purposeful idealism, resolute commitment and visionary redemption of President Muhammadu Buhari in his approach to counter insurgency operations. I got a hint of his passionate efforts and zeal to tend terrorism in the country through the many remarks of General Buratai thanking Mr President for the adequate and timely provision of needed resources in the fight against insurgency in the country.
On this note, I wish to thank Mr President for the accelerated promotion of the duo however in my limited understanding, firm thinking and total submission the promotion of the trio (including Lt. Gen. Buratai) is the best way to reward hard work, pragmatic approach and diligence to duty.
The promotion of Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai to a four star General is the biggest anticipation of many Nigerians and international observers because he has contributed his greatest and bravest quota by writing his name with gold on the sands of time.
God bless Nigeria!
– Ajogwu, a former Defence Correspondent with TheNigerian News, contributed this piece from Abuja, Nigeria.
