Chief of Defence Staff(CDS), General Lucky Irabor has appealed to retired senior military officers to support the fight against insurgency in the country.
A statement by Deputy Director Defence Information Defence Headquarters, Air Commodore WAP MAIGIDA stated thatGeneral Irabor made the call on Monday July 19 during the second edition of security parley and Interactive session with retired senior military officers in Northwest Geopolitical Zone of the country.
The CDS said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) is constantly reviewing its techniques, tactics and procedures as well as operational doctrines to be in tandem with the requirements for the containment of the security threats.
Gen Irabor therefore appealed to the senior citizens to show the same level of commitment and patriotic zeal which they exhibited while in military service and to be in-depth as well as forthright during the interactive session.
He pointed out that the retirees are part of members of the Armed Forces and security agencies, noting that they must play critical roles in national security as relevant stakeholders.
He said further, “from our (AFN) assessment of all the stakeholders within our environment and nation, there is no other people that is better placed to understand the nuances of not just the security threats, but of course, the containment measures than you (military retirees).
He stated that the full spectrum of issues are better understood by the retired senior officers, due to their experiences in the service and interaction with civilian populace.
In his remarks, the Chief of Defence Civil Military Cooperation (CDCMIC), Rear Admiral Fredrick Ogu, disclosed that the informed recommendations by the participants would further aid the AFN in tackling the array of security issues in their domains.
The CDCMIC, who lamented that the Northwest is becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups, highlighted the current security challenges in the region to include attacks on local communities, kidnapping, abductions, banditry and sundry crimes.
He disclosed that the CDS interaction with the retired senior military officers in the Southwest was the maiden edition held in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, last month. According to him, a lot of security issues in the zone were x-rayed during the security parley.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, represented by Commander 51 Signals Brigade, Brigadier General Adeleke Ayanuga said recent months have been a challenging times for the AFN and security agencies vested with the responsibility of defence and security of the nation.
He added that the AFN in conjunction with other security agencies have been able to confront the prevailing security threats in Kaduna and Niger states. These feats, he said, was as a result of the relentless support and leadership direction of the CDS and Service Chiefs.
The security conference which is organized by Defence Headquarters. It is platform where the military high command and its veterans brainstorm on issues of national security, with a view to get first-hand knowledge on the nitty-gritty of the reoccurring security challenges being witnessed in almost the six zones of the country.