The 5-day 2nd and 3rd quarter Chief of Army Staff Conference ended on Thursday with Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, issuing new operational rules, saying that henceforth, Barrack Commanders will now be held Responsible for any attacks on military facilities within their jurisdiction.
General Yahaya therefore urged the commanders to ensure that troops maintain “a state of constant alertness and vigilance at all times to avoid any surprise attack by the adversary.”
Going forward, he added, laid-back attitudes on the part of commanders would not be tolerated.
According to Yahaya, ”I want to remind Formation and Unity Commanders on the need to ensure adequate security of their bases, barracks and cantonment. Commanders would be held responsible for any security breach. The importance of leadership cannot be overemphasized especially in the military.
“It is the responsibility of a leader to develop and earn the trust of his or her subordinates. Trust built on good character is the bedrock for effective leadership which is geared towards achieving results. Therefore, Commanders at all levels must provide quality and good leadership while imbibing the core values of the Nigerian Army.
“Commanders must also ensure that they remain selfless, build and earn the respect and confidence of their subordinates in order to lead effectively. I have directed that leadership training modules be developed and utilised in all our training institutions to enhance the career and performance of all NA personnel.
“In the conduct of our operations, Commanders must ensure that their troops maintain a state of constant alertness and vigilance at all times to avoid any surprise attack by the adversary. It is also the task of Commanders to take care of the resources and logistics put at their disposal for the conduct of operations towards achieving results.
“Laissez-faire attitudes on the part of commanders would not be tolerated. Like I have always said, failure is failure irrespective of the circumstances. To that end, I have directed the appropriate departments to come up with modalities for the evaluation of the performance of Commanders in the course of their command.
“Additionally, commanders must continue to cooperate and work in synergy with our sister Services, other security agencies and stakeholders while developing novel processes, strategies, and tactics to overwhelm the enemy using both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.
“Commanders must be proactive in the conduct of their operations. You must take the fight into the identified and known enclaves of terrorists and criminals to neutralize them.”