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Badeh cautions military against over-reliance on foreign nations

By Karls Tsokar, Abuja
31 July 2015   |   5:32 am
NIGERIA has been advised not to depend solely on foreign assistance to prosecute the war against terrorists, if the ongoing efforts must succeed.
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Former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh and his wife, Mary, in a motorcade, during the pull-out ceremony in Abuja… yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

NIGERIA has been advised not to depend solely on foreign assistance to prosecute the war against terrorists, if the ongoing efforts must succeed.

This advice was given by former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) retired Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh to the armed forces to chart a new course to overcome the current security challenges. “I want to state emphatically that no nation can achieve sucess by totally depending on other nations for its defence needs,” he said.

Badeh, who was pulled out of the military at a glamorous ceremony in Abuja yesterday said on his appointment as the 16th CDS, he was confronted with some compelling challenges in the fight against terrorism, such as the military lacking relevant equipment and motivation to fight the insurgents.

In his words: “Added to this was the exploitation of a serious national security issue by a section of the press and the political class to gain political mileage.

The activities of fifth columnists in the military and other security agencies, who leaked operational plans and sensitive military information to the terrorists is regrettable. “The activities of these unpatriotic members of the military not only stunted the effectiveness of the fight but also led to the needless deaths of numerous officers and men who unwittingly fell into ambushes prepared by terrorists who had advance warnings of the approach of such troops.”

He added that despite these challenges, the support of the general populace, neighbouring countries and other friendly nations who have agreed to sell arms to the nation, should be commended.

Badeh said after more than 38 years in the Army, he knows that the use of homegrown initiatives and innovation technology for self-reliance is imperative especially in the face of critical defence requirements.

According to him, this resolve gave birth to the first indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and the training of the pilots for the UAVs who are currently flying the Nigerian Air force vehicles in the ongoing war against terror in the North East.

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