FORWARD EVER BACKWARD NEVER!

(Full text of Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen TY Buratai’s Special Message For Officers and Men of Operation LAFIYA DOLE on the Final Clearance of Boko Haram and ISWAP Terrorists”

Gentlemen officers and men of the Nigerian Army! Gallant officers and men of Operation LAFIYA DOLE! We are right here right now to carry out our solemn and righteous constitutional duties.

We are here to flush out these criminals who have been terrorizing and killing innocent and law abiding Nigerians! Officers and men of the Nigerian Army owe it a duty to save our country from the menace of terrorists, bandits and all forms of criminalities.

We owe it a duty to the Nigerian people and to our President and Commander in Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, for the confidence he has reposed in us to achieve the mandate the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has given us.

We owe it a duty to serve our fatherland and protect our fellow country men and women! Ours is a professional calling, a call to serve our dear country; a call to defend the territorial integrity of our fatherland, which we must all be proud of.

We must also be proud of our calling as professional soldiers and patriots. Therefore, we must go all out to stop and eliminate these criminals. We must do it now.

There is no better time than now! In this our honorable mission and endeavor, there is no room for the chicken-hearted.

The Nigerian Army of today is for the committed, disciplined, patriotic and selfless officers and soldiers which I believe you all are.

There is no room for cowardice and no room for the Lily livered ones. From now on it is FORWARD EVER BACKWARD NEVER! The sacrifices of our fallen heroes must never be in vain! Nigerian Army officers and soldiers have no cause to despair as ours is a noble and patriotic cause.

It is a cause we must all be proud of. Gentlemen gallant commanders all levels, you must hold firmly to your officers and men.

You must instill confidence through your words and actions. In order to win the trust and confidence of their subordinates, commanders must never show fear or fatigue.

If they do that, they will lose all moral authority to lead and command their men.

You cannot and must not take men and equipment in to battle without situating it, without putting yourself through the whole course and playing out all the likely scenarios you may encounter and diligently working out all possible options.

We must be committed and fastidious. We must consider and workout the minutest details, factors and all possible outcomes in all our operations.

Let me reiterate and restate here that I have confidence in all my officers. I have confidence in all my commanders and I have confidence in you gallant soldiers of the Nigerian Army! Finally, I must remind you all that as leaders our focus must always be for the Nigerian Army.

We must think out of the box and beyond the box. I charge you all to move out and bring this war to a positive end! Victory is from God Alone! God bless our gallant troops participating in our various operations, God bless the Nigerian Army and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Tukuru Y BURATAI Lieutenant General Chief of Army Staff Ngamdu, Borno State

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