Danjuma to Service Chiefs: No excuse for failure to end insecurity

6the from left: Gen Danjuma and others at the book launch

Published By: Ayorinde Oluokun

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Former Minister of Defence and Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, on Tuesday said the current service chiefs have no excuses for their failure to end the lingering insecurity ravaging the country.

Danjuma said this while speaking at the presentation of a book titled “Big Boots: Lessons from my Military Service” written by retired Maj.-Gen. Solomon Udounwa in Abuja.

According to the former defence minister, the Service Chiefs must end and terrorism and banditry across the country and return the country to the path of peace as soon as possible.

He extolled the virtues of the author and his commitment to excellence in his military career.

“Number one problem today, security and we must end the pandemic, stop the killings that are going on in our country as soon as possible.

“Those of you who are still serving no excuses and absolutely no,” he said.

Danjuma commended the military leadership for their efforts in addressing the various security challenges bedeviling the nation.

He also commended the armed forces for effective management their own pension.

In his remarks, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, said the military was positioned and working tirelessly to restore peace across the country.

Musa added that the armed forces would continue to uphold the values of service, integrity and honor that define extreme military tradition.

“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 and there are going to be challenges. But that is why we are here.

“I want to assure you that we have learned a lot from your record, and very distinguished senior officers that have modeled us all through the years.

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“We cannot afford to fail and we will not fail,” he said.

The CDS also extolled the virtues of the author, retired Gen. Udounwa for his exemplary service to the army and the nation in general.

The author of the book, Udounwa, said he was motivated by the desire to document his experiences for the younger generation.

He said that the first factor that motivated him was that the military profession thrived on experiential learning.

He added that younger generations of military officers and soldiers required the experiences of those who served before them to learn strategy, administration, operational management, and the rest.

“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 academia for people who are interested in national and international security affairs, and for the general public.

“So, that was the motivation”.

“I hope the younger generation of officers who are still serving will learn from some of the challenges I faced and how I was able to navigate through them.

“I hope they will learn that to serve in the military requires discipline, requires professionalism, requires integrity, requires character, requires courage, and so many other virtues that an officer must display while undertaking his duties,” he said.

Udounwa explained that the title of the book “Big Boots” was informed by the size of his feet and boots in the military.

He said that he faced bullies in primary school but decided to unleash his big feet on one of the bullies and ended the reign of terror.

“Then when I joined the military, because my feet are very big, I was also given Big Boots, which went with me everywhere I served, and which I used in trampling on terrorists and every other threat to our national security,” he added.

The book presentation attracted the presence of the former service Chief like Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, Gen. Lucky Irabor, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya and other serving and retired top officers. (NAN)