General Taoreed Lagbaja during the visit
Army detests calls to disrupt Nigeria’s democracy, COAS insists
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, has the Army will not heed calls by some powerful interests to embark on undemocratic takeover of government in Nigeria.
Lt-Gen Lagbaja spoke on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at the 2024 Chief of Army Staff combined second and third quarters conference in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State.
According to him, Nigerian Army was still struggling to restore its integrity after many years of military rule.
Consequently, the Army is not ready to lose the prestige built in the past 25 years of staying out of power.
Indeed, there have been calls by some persons for military intervention during the August 1 to 10 #EndbadGovernance protest, but the Army has continued to insist it would work for a united and secured country.
The COAS said: “Another pertinent issue that came up during the recent protest is the call for undemocratic intervention in governance by the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“Although one can say this was coming from young Nigerians who never experienced the era of Nigeria’s extensive military rule and the concerted struggle by heroes and heroines of our current democratic dispensation to get the Nation on its current path.
“As Chief of Army Staff, my simple response to the call is, ‘Thanks, but no thanks!’ The Nigerian Army will not allow itself to be used to undemocratically sail some interests to power.
“As the Service that received the most image bashing as a fallout of previous military interventions in Nigeria, the Nigerian Army is not poised to lose the new prestige it has painstakingly built in the past 25 years.”
He said apart from combating physical insecurity such as terrorism, banditry, crude oil theft, and others, the Nigerian Army was poised to address the challenge of the food crisis which could trigger physical security issues.
Consequently, Lagbaja said the Nigerian Army to ensure adequate food security, has embarked on massive food production in partnership with the government and the private sector.
According to him, “Evidently, the situation that led to the protest seems to have settled, but the Nigerian Army understands that the issue of food security will remain on the front burner of our national security policy and discussions for a while.
“As a way of strengthening its soft power approach to resolving Nigeria’s food security challenge, the Nigerian Army will, in the coming days, review its agricultural policy to better position the Nigerian Army Farms and Ranches Limited to significantly boost crop production so that the Army can release grains into the market at highly subsidized rate in support of government efforts.
“Furthermore, the Army Headquarters is reviewing some proposals for partnerships with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government and reputable private organizations on how best to collaborate to resolve the food crisis in the country.”