President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, decorated the new heads of the armed forces as well as the Chief of Defence Staff, with a charge not to sleep until the war on terror in the North-Eastern part of the country was won and Nigerians in Borno State were also able to sleep.
This came as the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, yesterday said that it had begun air strikes at the Sambisa Forest in Borno State where the Boko Haram insurgents have their cells.
Meantime, security agencies are being hampered by their inability to curtail the upsurge in ethnic and religious killings in some parts of the Middle Belt states of Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa states as well as Southern Kaduna, in Kaduna State.
The President, who was assisted by the Vice President and spouses of the security chiefs, told them that they could not afford to disappoint Nigerians at this critical time of the country’s history.
He said: “Whenever I am decorating military officers, I commend their wives because it is not easy to be barrack-based and for you to rise to this limelight. But for the service chiefs, I don’t know whether I should congratulate you or sympathise with you because of the circumstances of the moment.
”When I was in secondary school, I read one article written by late Dr. Tai Solarin and there is one clause where he said ‘I wish you what I wish myself every year. May your road be rough.’ So I think I will wish you what I wish myself every year and I say may we have enough hard time this period because none of us will sleep until Nigerians in Borno State can sleep.
”That is why I say, today is not a moment for major statements. We will be having frank talks from time to time, but definitely Nigerians will tell you what they expect from us, we must not fail this country. I believe this team will work together to be assisted by other intelligence services because the war against terror must be won in this country.
“I congratulate you all and your wives. I have worked with some of you in one way or the other and I am convinced that we selected the right team.”
Responding on behalf of the service chiefs, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, while thanking the President for considering them worthy of appointment and giving them the opportunity to be the first to be confirmed by Nigerians via the National Assembly, assured that the service chiefs would not fail him and the good people of Nigeria.
According to him, they will work in harmony to fight the scourge of terrorism, kidnapping and oil bunkering, adding that the military would continue to defend the nation’s territorial integrity and ensure security in the country.