The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) should recruit more soldiers for Nigeria to effectively tackle the war against terrorism and banditry, former Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Rear Admiral Gabriel Okoi (rtd) has said.
Admiral Okoi, who is the chairman of the NMS Ex-Boys Association September 1973 Set (The Elites) of Nigerian Military School, Zaria, Kaduna State, spoke at the group’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and 50th anniversary celebrations in Abuja.
Answering questions from journalists who covered the AGM and 50th anniversary of the September 1973 set, Admiral Okoi also advocated regular rotation of soldiers on the frontlines of the fight against insurgency and banditry, saying that troops should not stay too long in the fight because according to him, fatigue would set in for such soldiers.
He however stated that terrorism and banditry are global phenomena and not peculiar to Nigeria.
According to him, “terrorism is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is a global problem. What I think is that the strength (of troops) is not there yet. There is a lot of fatigue because some people have been in the fight for many years.
“If I will advise, I will say let them recruit more people. Let rotation be carried out frequently so that those who have stayed long in the fight can return to the barracks while new set replace them.”
On the recent military take over in some African countries, the retired senior military Chief hoped that the matter will be resolved without retarding the development of the African Continent.
On the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of his group, Admiral Okoi said events lined up include Tombola Night, AGM proper, election of new officers to run the Association for the next two years and a dinner night on Saturday to round off the programme.
“In the past two years, we have tried to help our members who had challenges and we have done that to the best of our ability. I hope the incoming executives will do better than that.
“We felt that after 50 years of our Association, it is necessary for us to come together and celebrate. God has been been very kind to us, though we have lost some of our colleagues. May their souls rest in peace.
“Also, in the history of the NMS, we have produced the highest number of Generals in the Armed Forces. So, on the 3rd of Septembers when we will be 50, as an association, we felt we should celebrate ourselves and give thanks to God. God has been very kind to us and we must give him praise.
“We lost some of our members. Since NMS was established, as then boy soldiers, we underwent basic military training. Many of us left after five years to private endeavours. Some went to NDA. It was not compulsory to join the military.
“At entry into the 1973 set, the NMS ex-boys were 120 in number but by the time they were graduating, they were 86 in number.”
Among members of the NMS Ex- Boys are Major Gen Sule Labaran (Rtd), Col Gbolugs Modugu(Rtd), Major Gen Kifd Ajemba (Rtd), Brig Gen Kolapo Salawu, Brig Gen Abdul Sani Mustapha (Rtd), Lt. Col Balarabe Bature (Rtd), Major Gen Henry Ayoola (Rtd), Pastor Moses Alu, and Barrister Mohammed Usman
Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alexander Ogomudia (Rtd) is the guest of honoir at the NMS Ex-Boys dinner night on Saturday holding at Zeus Paradise Hotel, Abuja.