General Taoreed Lagbaja: One year on the battle front, By Michael Msuaan

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja

This one year in office is indeed a time to commend General Lagbaja for his purposeful leadership and determination in combating insurgency and criminality in the country. This calls for support from all Nigerians to sustain the tempo of taking the battle to the adversaries. Indeed, it has been one year of “unquantifiable sacrifice in blood and treasure” and one can confidently say without equivocation that within this year, the Army has shown commitment, determination and focus…

The appointment of General Lagbaja as the 23rd Chief of Army Staff was greeted with a lot of commendations by many across the country. According to the former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, on his X handle, this will be a “new kind of chief of army staff who without a doubt will wipe out terrorism, banditry, vandalism and militancy in Nigeria.” Several other Nigerians expressed optimism in his ability to do the job dispassionately. This is not unconnected with his firm stand and determination to achieve success in any task given to him. The Chief of Army Staff leads in the front, right in the battle field. He is not the kind of soldier who sits in the comfort of his office giving commands to troops. General Lagbaja would lead the battle against the enemies right in the theatre of war.

He is referred to as a no nonsense soldier, a professional soldier by training, in appearance, words and actions. Having participated in several operations across the country, the Chief of Army Staff came in with a clear-headed philosophy “to transform the Nigerian army into a well-trained, equipped and highly motivated force towards achieving our constitutional responsibilities within a joint environment.” With this philosophy, the Chief of Army Staff set out to confront the insecurity that has devastated the country for over two decades and stretched the Nigerian Army and other security agencies to the limit of their capabilities. His operational philosophy rests on three cardinal pillars: “leadership, operational effectiveness, and sound administration.”

This insecurity ranges from the attacks of ISWAP/Boko Haram, bandits, IPOB, in addition to the militant activities that have hindered the nation’s crude oil output, the perennial herders and farmers clashes, kidnapping, and other forms of criminality in the country. Thus, the Nigerian Army needed to be forward thinking and progressive in training, strategy and sophistication to confront these criminality in such a dynamic environment. General Lagbaja noted that, “Never in recent history is the requirement for proactive, adaptive and inclusive leadership more needed than Nigeria’s security environment of today.”

The Nigerian Army, therefore, needed determined leadership. Building on the breakthroughs recorded by his predecessors, the Chief of Army Staff has spectacularly demonstrated so much understanding of the current security challenges in the country and preempts the enemies’ next moves. He effectively understands the importance of collaboration with sister agencies and other security agencies.

The COAS believes that leadership is instrumental to bonding followership. While delivering a lecture to students of course 46 at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, Kaduna State, titled “Crafting My Command Philosophy As Chief of Army Staff, Nigeria’s Contemporary and Emerging Security Environment,” Lagbaja charged mid-level commanders of the Nigerian Army to lead their subordinates by example, in the ongoing effort to combat the security challenges bedeviling some parts of the country. He maintained that exemplary leadership will correspondingly impact positively on operational efficiency in the ongoing effort at tackling insecurity.

General Taoreed Lagbaja insists that the troops involved in operations across the country need training and retraining to rejuvenate their fighting spirit. The training will expose the them to modern warfare and the use of newly acquired equipment. As such, “the army must continue to review its tactics, techniques and procedures, and come up with implementable strategies to defeat the adversaries with both kinetic and non-kinetic means,” he pointed out.

So far, General Lagbaja’s robust strategy and clear vision have brought the activities of ISWAP/Boko Haram to their knees. This has resulted in the killing and arrests of notorious Boko Haram commanders, their informants and foot soldiers, with several operational camps bursted and destroyed.

In confronting these forms of criminality, the COAS stated that the army under his watch has acquired modern equipment, and “we no longer rely on 1970 or 1980 equipment to fight the battle of 2023. The Nigerian Army has procured various modern equipment and also has internally built ones. We have adequate equipment to ensure troops are ready to perform their task and tackle those challenges confronting Nigeria in 2023.

“We have asked Research and Development to build some of those equipment we used to import from abroad; if you go to our command in Kaduna, you will see what the mechanical engineers are doing. They are building vehicles; very soon we may be exporting some to neighbouring countries.”

General Taoreed Lagbaja insists that the troops involved in operations across the country need training and retraining to rejuvenate their fighting spirit. The training will expose the them to modern warfare and the use of newly acquired equipment. As such, “the army must continue to review its tactics, techniques and procedures, and come up with implementable strategies to defeat the adversaries with both kinetic and non-kinetic means,” he pointed out.

Lagbaja considers the welfare of the troops a topmost priority. He emphasised that this would boost their morale and ultimately enhance operational effectiveness. He has introduced initiatives such as the Affordable Home Ownership Option for All Soldiers (AHOOAS), which is aimed at alleviating the hardship that soldiers face in securing personal accommodation following their years of service. Through the post-service housing development limited, five per cent of the AHOOAS scheme in each estate is for allocation to soldiers with operational related disabilities. Also, he introduced the Nigerian Army Welfare Loan in April to improve the well-being of the Nigerian soldier. Under Lagbaja, the army has reinvigorated its complimentary welfare flights for troops in the North-East, to facilitate travels for them during leaves and passes.

The one year in office of General Lagbaja as the chief of Army Staff has given assurance and renewed hope in the ability of the Nigerian Army to stamp out all forms of criminality in the country and protect it against external aggression. The COAS has always stated that under his watch, “all Nigerian Army personnel must remain professional, law-abiding and loyal to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as they discharge their constitutional responsibilities.”

Within the COAS’ one year in office, the army has purchased over 200 gun trucks, thousands of personal protective equipment, over 100 mines resistant ambush protected vehicles and several other sophisticated equipment awaiting arrival into the country in the shortest possible time. The army, which had nurtured the desire to have an aviation wing since 1984 has purchased aircraft to be used for logistics, surveillance, training and casualty evacuation, among others, in the first one year of General Lagbaja as chief of Army Staff.

Significant successes have been recorded in the fight against oil theft, oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism in the oil producing Niger Delta region. And, the activities of these criminals have reduced the nation’s crude oil production. But with the strategies put in place by Lagbaja to protect the region, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has acknowledged that improved security in the Niger Delta is responsible for the increased crude oil production to 1.65 million barrels per day, as against the 1.25 million bpd previously recorded.

Another disturbing security situation was the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security (ESN) Network, both of which had killed many, destroyed properties worth millions of naira, and crippled socio-economic activities in the South-East. However, on assumption of office, General Lagbaja declared the infamous sit at home order of these groups over and enforced this through “operation Udo ka,” leading to the restoration of sanity, and the abolishment of the sit at home order of these non state actors. Total sanity will be achieved in due course.

While there are still a couple of cowardly security breaches here and there across the country, the soul of the insurgency and banditry afflicting Nigeria has been destroyed. The one year in office of General Lagbaja as the chief of Army Staff has given assurance and renewed hope in the ability of the Nigerian Army to stamp out all forms of criminality in the country and protect it against external aggression. The COAS has always stated that under his watch, “all Nigerian Army personnel must remain professional, law-abiding and loyal to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as they discharge their constitutional responsibilities.”

This one year in office is indeed a time to commend General Lagbaja for his purposeful leadership and determination in combating insurgency and criminality in the country. This calls for support from all Nigerians to sustain the tempo of taking the battle to the adversaries. Indeed, it has been one year of “unquantifiable sacrifice in blood and treasure” and one can confidently say without equivocation that within this year, the Army has shown commitment, determination and focus in tackling insurgency, marauding bandits, and other forms of criminality that have bedeviled and disturbed the peace of the country.

Michael Msuaan writes from Makurdi, Benue State.