•Military attacks CNN over report on soldiers’ welfare
Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), on Friday, in Makurdi, Benue State, decried corruption which, he claimed, had crippled the armed forces in their war against Boko Haram terorists.
Buhari, who was in the state in continuation of his campaigns for the February 14 presidential election, declared that if he is elected, “every money accruing into the nation’s coffers will be used to develop the country,” while funds budgeted for defence will be used to equip the forces.
“It is unfortunate that despite the trillions of naira the government has been voting for security in the last four years, our military men today cannot fight Boko Haram.
“The morale of the military, police and other law enforcement agencies is very low, otherwise how can our soldiers go and grant interviews to the press that they cannot fight Boko Haram? Go and see the trillions of naira voted for security in the last four years for weapons and training, yet, insurgents are clamping down on our soldiers.“Our soldiers won’t need to buy uniforms when APC comes into government. Our soldiers and policemen will not buy uniforms and shoes. They will be provided for them and they will be told to be patriotic and loyal to law and order,” Buhari said.
His running mate, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, who also spoke at the rally, admonished the people of Benue State to vote in a government that would rule the country “with the fear of God, where no workers would be owed salaries, nor pensioners dying while waiting for their pension; a country where peace, love, harmony and unity will reign.”
Military tackles CNN
The military high command, on Friday, described a report by the Cable News Network (CNN) as “another in the series of orchestrated campaigns of smear and blackmail against its image and character by some entrenched interests.”
The Director, Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, in a statement, said that the Nigerian Armed Forces were committed and focused on the ongoing fight against terror and that the authorities were ensuring that both weapons and welfare were provided to the fighting force.
“The Nigerian military rejects, in absolute terms, the report that has been repeatedly aired on the CNN which presented footages of interviews with individuals claiming to be Nigerian soldiers.
The said report is certainly another orchestrated smear campaign targeted at the image and character of the Nigerian Armed Forces by some entrenched interests.
This CNN interview and report are an unfortunate effort to promote blackmail. It smacks of an international conspiracy against Nigeria’s national security.
“A reputable medium is not expected to indulge in propagating concocted stories from persons or individuals whose identity remains questionable. Unfortunately, the report has been so zealously repeated with a view to enhancing its effect in terms of mischief.
“However, even if the blackmailers turned out to be Nigerian soldiers, the scenario only spoke of the extent to which those who seek to bring the Nigerian military into disrepute can go in their desperation.
“Without making any attempt to dignify an absolute mendacity, the Defence Headquarters restates that the Federal Government and the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces are, without doubt, committed and focused on the ongoing fight against terror and is ensuring that both weapons and welfare are incrementally provided to the fighting force.
“Our soldiers know this and they are gallantly working round the clock to reverse the unfortunate gains of terrorists and improve the security situation in the affected areas. The orchestrated blackmail and propaganda against the leadership of the Nigerian military will certainly not stop us from stamping out terrorism in our country,” Olukolade said.
The CNN report contained interviews with some men in military fatigue who claimed to be Nigerian soldiers and who also made damning allegations against military authorities.
One of the persons interviewd claimed that morale of soldiers was very low.
“The troops’ morale is actually very low, very low, because we are not issued a uniform, we buy the uniforms ourselves,” he explained, while the report quoted another as saying that, when they go into battle, no one has the same uniform, so when they run from Boko Haram, it’s chaos. They don’t know who is a friend or foe — whom to shoot and whom to help.
“Most soldiers live in fear, a fear of what will happen to them, and how long they can survive in this battle.”
According to the CNN reporter, “the worrying doesn’t stop there. They see enough war widows on the base to know the grim reality of what can happen to their loved ones if they die.
“A widow I meet explains. Her husband was killed in battle over a year ago, she tells me.
‘When my husband died, they never called me to tell me that I lost my husband, she says. They buried him without notifying me.’
“She gets no army pension, and she says there are many more like her: they feel abandoned, afraid to speak out because they still live in the barracks.
“Government officials tell us they will look into these shortcomings, that they are working on getting better weapons for the troops. If they do, according to the soldiers I met, it will easily turn the tide in this war,” the CNN report said.
Source: Tribune
Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), on Friday, in Makurdi, Benue State, decried corruption which, he claimed, had crippled the armed forces in their war against Boko Haram terorists.
Buhari, who was in the state in continuation of his campaigns for the February 14 presidential election, declared that if he is elected, “every money accruing into the nation’s coffers will be used to develop the country,” while funds budgeted for defence will be used to equip the forces.
“It is unfortunate that despite the trillions of naira the government has been voting for security in the last four years, our military men today cannot fight Boko Haram.
“The morale of the military, police and other law enforcement agencies is very low, otherwise how can our soldiers go and grant interviews to the press that they cannot fight Boko Haram? Go and see the trillions of naira voted for security in the last four years for weapons and training, yet, insurgents are clamping down on our soldiers.“Our soldiers won’t need to buy uniforms when APC comes into government. Our soldiers and policemen will not buy uniforms and shoes. They will be provided for them and they will be told to be patriotic and loyal to law and order,” Buhari said.
His running mate, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, who also spoke at the rally, admonished the people of Benue State to vote in a government that would rule the country “with the fear of God, where no workers would be owed salaries, nor pensioners dying while waiting for their pension; a country where peace, love, harmony and unity will reign.”
Military tackles CNN
The military high command, on Friday, described a report by the Cable News Network (CNN) as “another in the series of orchestrated campaigns of smear and blackmail against its image and character by some entrenched interests.”
The Director, Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, in a statement, said that the Nigerian Armed Forces were committed and focused on the ongoing fight against terror and that the authorities were ensuring that both weapons and welfare were provided to the fighting force.
“The Nigerian military rejects, in absolute terms, the report that has been repeatedly aired on the CNN which presented footages of interviews with individuals claiming to be Nigerian soldiers.
The said report is certainly another orchestrated smear campaign targeted at the image and character of the Nigerian Armed Forces by some entrenched interests.
This CNN interview and report are an unfortunate effort to promote blackmail. It smacks of an international conspiracy against Nigeria’s national security.
“A reputable medium is not expected to indulge in propagating concocted stories from persons or individuals whose identity remains questionable. Unfortunately, the report has been so zealously repeated with a view to enhancing its effect in terms of mischief.
“However, even if the blackmailers turned out to be Nigerian soldiers, the scenario only spoke of the extent to which those who seek to bring the Nigerian military into disrepute can go in their desperation.
“Without making any attempt to dignify an absolute mendacity, the Defence Headquarters restates that the Federal Government and the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces are, without doubt, committed and focused on the ongoing fight against terror and is ensuring that both weapons and welfare are incrementally provided to the fighting force.
“Our soldiers know this and they are gallantly working round the clock to reverse the unfortunate gains of terrorists and improve the security situation in the affected areas. The orchestrated blackmail and propaganda against the leadership of the Nigerian military will certainly not stop us from stamping out terrorism in our country,” Olukolade said.
The CNN report contained interviews with some men in military fatigue who claimed to be Nigerian soldiers and who also made damning allegations against military authorities.
One of the persons interviewd claimed that morale of soldiers was very low.
“The troops’ morale is actually very low, very low, because we are not issued a uniform, we buy the uniforms ourselves,” he explained, while the report quoted another as saying that, when they go into battle, no one has the same uniform, so when they run from Boko Haram, it’s chaos. They don’t know who is a friend or foe — whom to shoot and whom to help.
“Most soldiers live in fear, a fear of what will happen to them, and how long they can survive in this battle.”
According to the CNN reporter, “the worrying doesn’t stop there. They see enough war widows on the base to know the grim reality of what can happen to their loved ones if they die.
“A widow I meet explains. Her husband was killed in battle over a year ago, she tells me.
‘When my husband died, they never called me to tell me that I lost my husband, she says. They buried him without notifying me.’
“She gets no army pension, and she says there are many more like her: they feel abandoned, afraid to speak out because they still live in the barracks.
“Government officials tell us they will look into these shortcomings, that they are working on getting better weapons for the troops. If they do, according to the soldiers I met, it will easily turn the tide in this war,” the CNN report said.
Source: Tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment