Tinubu and Nigerian Army’s glorious era – The Sun Nigeria

 

It is becoming all too glaring that President Bola Tinubu is determined to turn around the fortunes of the Nigerian military for the better, in particular its most dominant force, the Nigerian Army.

In doing so, however, he must take copious notes from the different periods that can be termed as the Nigerian Army’s glorious eras.  The President should disregard the naysayers and pay full regard to physical achievements that have helped in shaping the army to the strong institution it has become today.

According to defence.gov.ng, “the history of the Nigerian Army dates to 1863, when Lt. Glover of the Royal Navy selected 18 indigenes from the northern part of the country and organized them into a local force, known as the ‘Glover Hausas’. The small force was used by Glover as governor of Lagos to mount punitive expedition in the Lagos hinterland and to protect British trade routes around Lagos. In 1865, the ‘Glover Hausa’ became a regular force with the name ‘Hausa Constabulary’. It performed both police and military duties for the Lagos colonial government. It later became ‘Lagos Constabulary’.

“On incorporation into the West Africa Frontier Force (WAFF) in 1901, it became ‘Lagos Battalion’. In addition to this force, the British government included the Royal Niger Company (RNC) Constabulary Force in Northern Nigeria.”

But narrowing this down to our contemporary history as a nation, no matter what anyone might say, the reality is that the era when General Tukur Yusufu Buratai held sway as Army Chief is the most glorious, given the unprecedented challenges of the time and the achievements made.

A well-researched piece published by ireporteronline.com, entitled “Promoting Professionalism: Major Reorganization and Modernization Under General Buratai’s Tenure,” captures that era as follows:

Preceding his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, the military was losing its officers and men in large numbers. Thus, Buratai’s drive was to improve on the military’s operational achievementsWithin three months of his appointment, Buratai verified his leadership capability by…