The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.
“Coming from a Chief Executive and Chief Security Officer of a State with substantial military background, it is unfortunate that Air Commodore David Jang (rtd) has demonstrated an embarrassing naivety in interpreting the dynamics of land operations. The Governor would have spared the nation his unfortunate remarks if only he consulted sufficiently before making his inciting declaration”.
Suffice to say the Governor is naïve enough not to have called the Airforce to take over the air with the MIG 21 and Alpha Jets and carry out aerial bombardments to forestall the Genocide or better still since Governor Jang is a novice he may as well call the Commodore of Nss Aradu or Nss Damisa to send in cruise propelled missile’s from the sea to route those that held a part of Jos under siege that night. In my opinion, “Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude. The attitude the Army applies at this fragile state of the nation matters. The fact is that Nigerians want very simple answers to the following question?
1. Did Governor Jang make a call to the GOC Gen Maina as he alleged?
2. Was the GOC’s mobile phone switched off at any point of time that fateful night that the Chief Security officer of Jos couldn’t reach the GOC Gen maina?
3. If he did call Gen Maina, why did the GOC not take pre emptive steps by sending in troops to the troubled spot?
4. Is there any hotline that the CSS could reach the GOC and all other heads of the armed forces in Jos , going by past incidence.
5. Does the directorate of Army Intelligence, SS,NIA, FIB, have personnel on ground that would have alerted the various unit heads and commanders or better still knock on Gen Maina’s door that night to inform him of an ongoing mayhem in other to act quickly and on time?
6. Going by past crises, did the security heads put in place a quick response strike force that can be mobilized in ten minutes for crisis intervention pending back up from a larger contingent?
7. Does the word Chief security officer as it sounds hold indeed any power in the sphere of command, and if so to what degree?
The Army should tell Nigerians what happened not castigating the Governor for bearing his mind as a helpless civilian. General Olukolade went further to say “Governor Jang’s ceaseless attack on the Army only goes to confirm his extraordinary partisanship to which the Army will not be blackmailed into supporting. This paragraph in my opinion is a misnomer as it dosent makes sense that the Governor would want to turn the Army into his personal tugs for the harassments of his opponents. While not holding forth for Gov Jang, I make bold to say that Gov Jang is only caught up in the midst of high wired politics. If I may read the entire crisis well, I am tempted to think or insinuate that this crisis bears the mark of the big men, elites fighting over the control and soul of Nigeria. They need to keep fanning the embers of dis -unity through propagation of violence in other to create the right atmosphere for their military politicians to strike. The manipulation of the Judiciary and the fanning the embers of ethnic and religious war is one synergy project ongoing, aided by the Abuja big goons. For the goons and the Cabal, the Military must help to clear their corrupt mess.
Looking into the army’s view in Gen Olukolade’s statement;“The operation now involves personnel of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police and the State Security Service among others. It is therefore unfortunate that Governor Jang’s spurious claims were specifically targeted at tarnishing the good image of the Army”: The offence of the Governor is that he didn’t call the Airforce Commander or Navy Commondore nor did he make any allegation against either on the two armed forces , but was succinct and daring enough to smear the pretty image of the BRIDE OF THE NIGER, THE NIGERIAN ARMY. Gen Olukolade asserted further;“The Governor may have his political or other intents to achieve, but he should desist from compounding issues, at least in the interest of the people who are endangered by his proposition and disdain for the Army in particular”. I begin to wonder if it is the Army speaking or it is the PDP, AC or the ANPP in a spar of words.
The Army is sending out very wrong signals by the day with the kind of statements they churn out. Statements that is more political than apolitical in very sensitive national issues as in the deployment of two battalions of soldiers and Brigade of guards to take over Abuja on the President’s return without recourse to the Acting President and Commander In Chief. Today, Nigerians are still awaiting a good explanation of who approved that treasonable act but as usual politics has eaten deep into professionalism, hence the Choice of attitude, CORE PROFESSIONALISM OR PARTISAN POLITICS for the Nigerian Army.
I am confounded that after the return of ailing President Yar Dua to Nigeria his Vice and Acting President can’t see him and yet they both live within the precincts of Aso Rock. If I may ask does the appellation given to Jonathan as C IN C carry any water? Does any professional soldier have a right to bar his C IN C from entering the Presidents quarters to see ailing President Yar Dua? That Jonathan don’t have control of the Chief of Army staff or the Commander Brigade of guards is a pointer to the fact that the Army elites today is not only compromised but fully political, that the hallmark of professionalism has been taken over by choice attitude of partisan politics. Here Gen Olukolade again;“Although the Army is briefing appropriate authorities on its operations and believes that appropriate response to Governor Jang’s attack on the Army is forthcoming, ! I wonder what appropriate response is forth coming again after lambasting Gov Jang to this extent. Maybe as armed forces, the Army may take the unilateral response of taking over Plateau State and declare her own emergency or better still arrest Governor Jang and teach him a bitter lesson of how not to be rude or rubbish the PRETTY IMAGE OF THE BRIDE OF THE NIGER, THE MOST PRETTY NIGERIAN ARMY.
I urge the Heads of all the security agencies to become more professional in their day to day operations as a choice in operational attitude, that a quick response strike force is put in place to intervene in a space of ten minutes (special forces) to be airlifted by helicopters if need be to conflict and genocide prone areas while awaiting the back up of a larger contingents of force personnel.
In conclusion, I believe the Nigeria Army is a Noble profession, full of men with courage, honor and valor. The Army has given much to Nigeria and Nigeria has given much to the Army. For Nigeria to attain sustainable development, the Army must rise above partisan politics and promote stability in the Nigerian polity. Your loyalty as an Army and institution is first to the Nigerian nation, constitution and people that the labor of our fallen heroes past may not be in vain. I therefore say to the NIGERIAN PEOPLES ARMY, THE RMY AND ARMED FORCES OF NIGERIA :that I believe the single most significant decision you can make as officers and gentlemen, on a day-to-day basis is your choice of attitude. It is more important than your past, your education, your bankroll, your successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of the ARMED FORCES as an institution, or say about the Army, or Military circumstances, or your operations. Your attitude will keep NIGERIA going or cripples the NATIONS progress. It alone fuels people’s fire or assaults their hopes. When your attitudes are right as ARMED FORCES, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for NIGERIANS TO SURMOUNT.
GARRICK KEHINDE OSEMWENGIE KINGS.
POLITICIAN /PUBLIC AFFAIRS ANALYST.
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