The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen.
Azubuike Ihejirika, said the army had commenced
massive recruitment to tackle the security challenge
in the country. Ihejirika said this while opening a five-day seminar
organised by the army’s Department of Civil-Military
Affairs at the 2 Div. Odogbo, Ibadan on Monday. “I have commenced the recruitment of 9,000
persons in our various training institutions’’,
Ihejirika said. The COAS, represented by Maj. Gen. John Ewansiha,
said the objective of the seminar was to foster
better working relations with civil society
organisations toward winning hearts and minds. Ihejirika reiterated the intention of the army to train
and retrain its officers in order to meet the security
challenge of the country. “Indeed, the Nigerian army is currently occupied
with domestic challenges in several parts of the
country, especially in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa
States’’, he said. The Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Maj. Gen. Bola
Koleoso, said the seminar was part of the quests to
resolve the crisis currently facing the nation. “As we all know, the civil society organisations
stand for the defence of human rights everywhere
as well as in crisis situations. “The military aims at defeating insurgents as well as
protecting law-abiding citizens’’, he said. Gov. Abiola Ajimobi, who was the guest of honour,
stressed the need for constant engagement and
discussion between the civil and military publics. “The modus operandi of the military is force;
obedience to order and immediacy of that
obedience. The modus operandi of the civil public is
persuasion and constant engagement, which takes
time“, he said. Ajimobi said the task of such relationship should
thus be how to bring the two publics together to
pursue same agenda for the democratic vision of
the nation. “The Nigerian civil public cannot afford to stand
aloof from the military. “Since independence, the military has fought wars
toward the sustenance of Nigeria’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity. “It has lost thousands of its men who are martyrs of
the peace and nationhood we enjoy today. “We cannot but support the military in its quest to
protect the nation and her territorial borders’’, the
governor said. The theme of the seminar is: “Consolidating Civil
Society Organisations/Military Relations for
Improved National Security.’’ www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/army-begins-massive-recruitment-ihejirika/