Army to engage retired personnel in anti-terrorism war

Nomadic education will end banditry, says FRCN boss

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, is planning to engage retired military personnel to fight Boko Haram terrorism in the North East. According to Yahaya, the military retirees will support Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) to end the war and restore peace.

Yahaya, represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division and Commander, Sector 1 of OPHK, Maj-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, disclosed this during a valedictory dinner for the discharged officers, at the weekend, in Maiduguri, Borno State.

“We’re to re-engage the most qualified and competent discharged or retired military personnel to complement efforts of troops to restore peace in the North East and country at large,” he said.

The COAS urged the retirees not to rest on their oars, but to continue supporting the military in the ongoing counter-terrorism operations across the country.

The special guest of honour, Maj-Gen. Bulama Biu (rtd), charged the retirees to shun all attitudes that could jeopardise the integrity of the Nigerian Army while operating in their host communities.

According to him, the ex-military men, who are to integrate into the larger society, should remain good ambassadors of the Nigerian Army while pursuing their dreams.

The discharged officers, including Cols. Yakubu Hassan and Mohammed Akilu, expressed support to the military to end the war.

NO amount of military bullets and bombs can stop the security challenges in Nigeria, but the education of nomads. Stating this in Zaria, yesterday, Kaduna Zonal Director of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Buhari Awwalu, argued that only education of the excluded groups, such as the nomads, would address the challenges.

He stated this at the opening of a 5-Day Training Workshop for Staff of National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) on Radio Production for the Take-off of Radio Zamanu International. The station was established to educate nomads across the country.

Represented by the General Manager of Karama Radio, Kaduna, AbdulRahman Bayero, the FRCN boss identified failure of the education of Fulani nomads as cause of the current security challenge. He, however, called for improved funding and equipment for the Nomadic Education Commission, to enable it properly educate the nomads and end banditry.

In his keynote address, the Executive Secretary of NCNE, Prof. Bashir Usman, represented by the Director, Quality Assurance, Mr. Akin Akinyosoye, said the prevalence of out-of-school children in Nigeria, especially among the nomadic groups. he called for multi-faceted approach, especially with the rising insecurity and the incessant clashes between the herders and farmers.