The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, has spoken on the need for the Army to change its strategy in the fight against terrorism and other forms of insecurity.
He also called for a strict adherence to military traditions and doctrines to reposition the Army a more professional and formidable force that would meet the security challenges facing the country.
Yahaya, who spoke yesterday in Abuja at his maiden briefing with General Officers Commanding (GOCs), field commanders and other frontline officers, pledged to rejig the Army for better performance and greater achievements.
He was appointed the 22nd COAS, following the death of his predecessor Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, in a plane crash in Kaduna on May 21.
The new COAS promised to lead the Army to victory in its operations across the country.
He said: “For the Nigerian Army to be competitive in the 21st century, it must remain professional and seek to develop competencies that would make it ever ready to undertake its constitutional duties.
“It is, therefore, against this background that my mission, which is to build a professional Army that will be ready to accomplish assigned missions within a joint environment in the defence of Nigeria. To achieve this goal, my command philosophy will rest on four pillars, namely: Professionalism, Readiness, Administration and Cooperation.”
He added: “We must return to the tenets of adhering strictly to customs and tradition and ethics of the Nigerian Army. The task ahead of us is enormous but so also is the strength of our common resolve to accomplish them.
“As your Chief of Army Staff, I hereby restate my commitment to lead you with sincerity, with transparency and accountability at all times. I want to assure you all that I will run the Army fairly and justly, giving equal opportunity to all based on individual competencies and character.
“I count on you to rise with me and defend our country. Gentlemen, together we shall succeed.
“I want to assure the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on my and our unalloyed loyalty of Nigerian Army and to assure all Nigerians of Army’s determination to ensure the territorial integrity of Nigeria.”