By Augustine Ehikioya
To boost effective Civil-Military Relations with key stakeholders, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. -Gen. Faruk Yahaya has called for the development of a broad national civil-military cooperation policy in the country among other policy recommendations.
He made the call while delivering a lecture to participants of Senior Executive Course 43 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru titled, “The Implementation of the Civil-Military Cooperation Policy of the Nigerian Army and the Conduct of Non-Kinetic Operations in the North-East: Issues, Challenges and Lessons.”
In a press statement issued on Wednesday by the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, and made available to Security Watch Africa (SWA), the COAS noted that “Army formations are working very hard to develop robust alliances with local communities and civilian populace to achieve more success in ongoing operations.”
He made a case for “improved feedback mechanism between the military and the civilian populace.”
He also suggested “the establishment of National CIMIC Doctrine and Strategy, establishment of Inter-Agency Collaboration Manual in Support of Joint Operations, continuous liaison and budgetary support for CIMIC and Quick Impact Projects (QIPS) among others.”
The statement also noted that the COAS had a very engaging interactive session with the participants and members of the Directing Staff of the Institute.