Nigeria’s National Military Strategy (NMS) was on Monday unveiled at the opening of the ongoing Defence Headquarters Retreat in Asaba, Delta State.
The strategic NMS document, an initiative of the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs, is expected to serve as a compass for future preparations in military engagement and for the containment of security challenges in the country.
Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd) along with top military Chiefs performed the launch of the NMS document at the retreat organized by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor.
General Irabor said that the four-day retreat, being attended by top echelon of serving and retired military officers, would help to reshape the military towards fighting future security challenges.
Irabor remarked that the ultimate desire of everyone at this crucial time in our national history was to rid the country of the menace being faced in the country and to sustain public confidence in the military.
According to the CDS, “on assumption of duty as the Chief of Defence Staff, I realised the urgent need to consolidate on the achievements of my predecessors and reinvigorate our desire to defend the territorial integrity of our nation with new ideas while strengthening cohesion within the Armed Forces and cooperation with other security agencies.
“I therefore, needed to work within a philosophy that would “Foster a Professional Armed Forces capable of effectively meeting its constitutional imperatives”.
“Delightfully, the Services keyed into this leadership philosophy and together we have continued to achieve tremendous progress.
“Undeterred by the prevailing security challenges across several regions of the country, the Armed Forces of Nigeria has continued to evolve creative ways of strengthening our potentials.
“It was identified that we need to give definite and unambiguous direction to the development of our doctrines that will enable us operate seamlessly and effectively.
“Hence, the National Military Strategy was developed to provide a platform upon which our joint and respective Services doctrines will stand.”
The Defence Chief said that the implementation of these strategies would not achieve the much desired goals if we do not open a less theoretical means of forging ahead, “thus, the need to share our practical experiences and address thorny issues that bother the Defence Headquarters and the 3 Services, in our quest to meet the constitutional roles for the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“The Defence Retreat is thus designed to be very engaging and interactive (with no-holds-barred), in line with my desire for decision making to be a collective approach of active participation.
“This Retreat, therefore, seeks to not only concentrate on the current security issues, but to begin to plan and strategically pivot on how to fight the ‘Future Wars’.
“I am also quite conscious of the third objective of this Retreat, which is to boost cohesion, mutual respect and the spirit of togetherness/collectiveness in our noble profession, as battles and wars become more of joint operations,’’ he said.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his sterling support to the armed forces and pledged the unalloyed loyalty and total commitment to ensure that security of lives and property that would endear the prosperity of the Nigerian citizenry was provided.