Daily Independent Online.
*
Friday, July 02, 2004.
Agwai urges soldiers to sustain, protect democracy
By Chris Agbambu
Deputy Bureau Chief, Abuja
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Martin Luther
Agwai, on Thursday urged officers and soldiers to ensure the sustenance of
democracy by eschewing divisive tendencies that have often characterised the
society.
Speaking at the launch of the book Nigerian Army
in Global Security,
written by the Nigerian Army as part of its 141st anniversary, Agwai noted that
the role the army played in restoring the democratic government in Sierra Leone
could only be meaningful if Nigeria was able to avoid the same pitfalls.
According to him, “This calls for a great deal
of commitment and professional discipline on the part of all service personnel.
That is the only way we can achieve our vision of creating an army that is
feared by its foes, respected by its allies and admired by Nigerians at home
and abroad.”
Agwai charged officers and soldiers to strive to
improve their reading and writing habit so as to build a richer intellectual
base in the Nigerian Army.
He said the successes recorded in the various
peacekeeping outings have projected the country’s image positively on the
international scene.
Commending the press for ensuring some balance in
their reports on the Nigerian Army and for understanding the uniqueness of
military matters that are security issues requiring great care and objectivity
in reporting them, Agwai said the greatest contribution the press could make
towards sustaining democracy was to ensure fairness and balance in the reports
at all times.
In a lecture entitled, Repositioning the army for
national development,
a former Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Major General Okon
Edet Okon (rtd), charged the military to operate strictly within the provision
of the constitution and shun the tendency to stray again into governance.
Okon, who was army spokesman in 1993, noted that only a
strong defence environment that would create a conducive atmosphere for
economic development could guarantee the security of a state.
