The Nigerian Army has decried what it describes as the “prevailing incidence of drug and substance abuse among troops deployed in theatres of operation”.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, disclosed this during a seminar on “Optimizing Warrior Ethos in the Nigerian Army; A Panacea for Operational Effectiveness,” organised by the Department of Army Transformation and Innovation on Tuesday in Sokoto.
“In addition, the prevailing incidence of drug and substance abuse among troops deployed in theatres of operation has become quite worrisome and necessitates troops’ awareness in a bid to enhance combat effectiveness.” he said.
The one-day seminar was organised towards improving its personnel capacity on handling chemical, biological and nuclear terrorism for effective and timely responses to emergencies in operations.
The COAS was represented by Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division of Nigeria Army Sokoto, Brig.-Gen. Ibikunle Ajeso.
He assured the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji of continuous support in the provision of needed logistics and guidance for the success of their operations.
He said the seminar is one of the many measures employed to mitigate the challenges faced by the troops while operating in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous security environment.
“The Nigerian Army has continued to review its tactics, techniques and procedures in order to come up with both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies to defeat these challenges.
“This seminar was therefore premised on the need to improve the capacity of personnel towards enhancing warrior ethos and the battle-winning mentality.
“It will also highlight the threats of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism along with dangers of substance abuse while executing your tasks,” Mr Lagbaja said.
He urged commanders at all levels to come up with ideas towards improving man-management and battle readiness, which he said was in line with his command philosophy for the Army.
COAS commended the Department of Army Innovation and Transformation for organising the seminar, which he said will raise necessary operational and situational awareness of the troops, “implore you all to remain innovative and committed.”
“By so doing, you will have helped to raise the standard that the Nigerian Army requires to deliver on its constitutional mandate.
“This event is therefore timely and will avail participants a better understanding of the key issues to improve on operational effectiveness.” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief of Transformation and Innovation, Maj.-Gen. Zakari Abubakar, said the theme of the seminar captures the desire of the Army to rejig the fighting spirit of its personnel.
“The seminar is therefore organised to optimise the leadership capacity of junior and middle class officers as well as to intensify warrior ethos and check the menace of drug and substance abuse among the troops,” Mr Abubakar said.
(NAN)
