By Augustine Ehikioya
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja has tasked Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSM) of the Nigerian Army to inspire their subordinates and build trust with the Nigerian society by ensuring Soldiers’ compliance with established practices and accepted code of behaviour during and after duty.
He gave the charge on Tuesday 28 May, 2024, while officially declaring open, the RSM Convention for the year 2024 at the Abbysynia Hall of Seventeen Hotel in Kaduna State.
Noting RSMs, as the embodiment of discipline and regimentation in the Nigerian Army, he said they have a pivotal role to play in “upholding the cherished traditions and ethical values of the Nigerian Army, especially in the face of the pervasive effects of globalization, driven by innovations in information and communication technology.”
In a statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Major General, Onyema Nwachukwu, and made available to Security Watch Africa (SWA), the COAS said “It is in acknowledgement of the aforementioned critical roles played by our RSMs that the Army Headquarters had deemed it necessary to sustain the hosting of this all-important convention on a biennial basis to focus on selected themes.
The theme of the convention, “Traditions, Customs and Ethics of the Nigerian Army as the Bedrock of a Well-Trained and Highly Motivated Force” he said was approved to create a nexus with that of the last convention, which looked at “Leveraging Sound Administration for Highly Motivated Force and Operational Efficiency in the Nigerian Army.”
This, he pointed out, was to delve deeper into some critical specifics of issues that were considered at the last convention.
The Army Chief maintained that the convention is thus, designed to equip participating RSMs with the knowledge and skills to better play their roles as custodians of the traditions, customs, and ethics of the Nigerian Army within the context of the contemporary world.
He maintained that in tandem with the Sound administration pillar of his Command Philosophy, he will be undaunted in executing his master plan to the letters, to promote the welfare, well-being, and wellness of Nigerian Army personnel.
General Lagbaja declared that his aspiration of having a well-trained and highly motivated force that can achieve its constitutional responsibilities in the unstructured and complex security environment cannot be realized without the commitment of the Regimental Sergeant Majors to maintaining the traditions, customs, and ethics of the Nigerian Army.
“The attitudinal credentials for professional and effective soldiering are all embedded in the rich Traditions, Customs, and Ethics of the Nigerian Army, which define the established and accepted ways of doing things as Army professionals”, the Army Chief expatiated.
The COAS expressed appreciation to the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his confidence and support for the Nigerian Army.
In an earlier address to the participants, the Chief of Administration (Army), Major General Jimmy Akpor stated that the NA reckons that its customs, traditions, and ethics are the social strands that bind formations and units together as an army.
While maintaining that RSMs remain the incontestible custodians of the highly cherished customs, traditions, and ethics, hence, should continually entrech, nurture and bequeath it.
He clarified that the convention will brainstorm and interrogate nuances of the NA customs, traditions and ethics for the benefit of individual personnel, as well as the overall enhancement of the efficiency of units, formations and Nigerian Army in general.
The convention, hosted by 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, attracted about 300 RSM participants from Nigerian Army formations and units across the country.
Equally present to grace the convention were representative of Kaduna State Governor, Mr Samuel Aruwan, Principal Staff Officers, former General Officer Commanding 1 Divisionn, Air Officer Commanding Training Command, Heads of Security Agencies as well as senior serving and retired military officers and Ex RSMs.
The event climaxed with the planting of a palm by the COAS to commemorate his presence at the convention.
At the end of the RSMs Convention Opening Ceremony, the Chief of Army Staff in pursuit of his pledge to improve the welfare, wellbeing, and wellness of personnel of the Nigerian Army, inaugurated a newly upgraded Radiodiagnostic Centre and Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine at the Nigerian Army 44 Reference Hospital, Kaduna.
Whilst commissioning the medical facility, the COAS revealed that the upgrading and provision of functional medical facilities across Nigerian Army formations and units is part of efforts to execute his Sound administration masterplan to provide adequate welfare, well-being and wellness for all personnel of the Nigerian Army.
He urged the hospital staff to judiciously utilize and maintain the facility for the health benefit of personnel and their families.
