Buhari Promises To Fully Equip Nigerian Armed Forces

BEVERLY HILLS, July 03, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday, said his administration will ensure that the Nigerian Armed Forces are fully equipped to enable them discharge their responsibilities both internally and globally even as he advised them to be sensitive to today’s media environment.

Buhari, who was represented by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, gave the promise at the graduation ceremony of the Senior Course 37 of the Command and Staff College in Jaji, where a total of 174 officers drawn from seven African countries, including Nigeria graduated at the ceremony attended by service chiefs, college officials and the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

Reminding members of the Nigerian Armed Forces that they have “a principal role to play in protecting the lives and property of our citizens from all forms of internal or external threat,” President Buhari

noted that while the civil police continue to be primarily responsible for internal security, “the scale of the current security challenges facing our nation requires the military to play a more decisive role in support of civil power.”

The President said the Nigerian military must remain apolitical and neutral in performing its constitutional role, stressing that the military has made good progress in the war against terror, even though faced with contemporary security challenges that were not envisaged some decades ago.

Warning members of the Armed Forces to be generally mindful of “today’s highly sensitive media environment,” the president observed that some of the new graduates of the College would be deployed in crisis prone areas inside or outside the country.

“You must be conscious of your actions, given that we live in a common global environment,” he charged them, adding that there is no doubt that the quality of training that they have received has adequately prepared them to confront current threats to national and global security.

President Buhari praised other African nations that nominated candidates for the College, saying such action “enhances the ideals of African governance integration for regional cooperation vital for collective security and development of the continent.”

He restated the fact that under the auspices of the Multi National Joint Force of neighbouring countries and Nigerian forces, the country is progressively winning the battle against Boko Haram.

Describing the college as a “prestigious institution,” he assured that the federal government will also continue to ensure that it gets the type of support that it deserves.