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We Are In A War and Must End Boko Haram, Army Chief Boasts

Nigeria Army Chief, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, this afternoon in the troubled Northern Nigerian city of Kaduna boasted that the Army is in a war and will end the threat to the country’s sovereignty posed by the Boko Haram sect.

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Nigeria Army Chief, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, this afternoon in the troubled Northern Nigerian city of Kaduna boasted that the Army is in a war and will end the threat to the country’s sovereignty posed by the Boko Haram sect.

He was speaking at a forum where he reviewed the challenges being faced by officers and men in their confrontation with the Islamic sect.

He told them: “It is high time for you and your men to be in war mood to be able to deal with the current challenges. Otherwise, how do you explain that troops on check point duty would be attacked by these decadences? And they sometimes do that and get away with it. This is an area you must work on. As you are out in the field, at every point in time, make sure you are either conducting an operation or you are gathering intelligence. You must be doing any of the two at any point in time. If your area is too quiet, you have a reason to get worried.

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He also addressed the work of the officer corps. “We believe that how your troops perform is a direct reflection of the qualities of their Commanding Officers,” he told them.  “That is why you are assembled here for the next four days to brainstorm on matters of service interest in order to improve and sharpen your professional skills.”

General Ihejirika stressed that the challenges before Nigeria and indeed the Army are well known to every member of the army. “The constitutional provision and the directive of Mr. President and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces for the Nigerian Army to work with other civil authorities to secure every part of this country are also well known,” assuring his men that the army would likely fare better in terms of budgetary provisions for it this year than in the past.  

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