President Goodluck Jonathan has asked officers of the Armed Forces to ensure early detection of traitors in the military to avoid betrayal during military operations.
Jonathan said that a conscious effort must be made to separate committed military personnel from those who betray standard military norms, saying such was vital to prevent mass loss of lives during military operations in the country.
The President spoke while commissioning the National Military Cenotaph, Abuja, on Wednesday.
He said that the military leadership should ensure that military personnel with such injurious tendencies were redeployed out of operational areas or retired from the service depending on their offences.
He stressed that while he was not calling for the sacking of soldiers, those whose actions seemed to portray them as enemies of the Nigerian state and their colleagues should not be in operational areas.
The President commended the men of the Armed Forces and the security agencies for their efforts in protecting the nation’s territorial integrity even with their lives in some cases.
A look at the names and number of the officers and men of the military pasted on the newly inaugurated cenotaph revealed that 300 soldierss have lost their lives to the insurrection in the North-East from 2011 to date.
The soldiers paid the supreme price while participating in Operation Restore Hope, Operation Boyona and Operation Zaman Lafiya to curb insurgency in the north.
Jonathan said, “For me I have always said it that I would continue to commend the Nigerian Armed Forces and the security operatives.
The President said that the cenotaph had to be constructed to appreciate the gallant efforts of the soldiers who got killed while defending the country in the North-East.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, who urged Nigerians to continue to support the military, said that the cenotaph was built in recognition of the efforts of the troops who paid the supreme price to keep the country together.
He said that the cenotaph “is also a reminder that the relative peace we all enjoy today is because some persons have chosen to lay down their lives so that some people can live in peace.”
Source: The Punch
Regards: Foreman Abiola
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