The Nigerian Army yesterday declared that the persisting conflict in the Niger Delta required more of political rather than military solution, stressing that the situation in the area had not degenerated into such threat that would warrant an outright military invasion.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Luka Yusuf, who made this known in a chat with journalists shortly after addressing officers and men of the Army during his maiden visit to the 82 Division Enugu , noted that the role of the military in the oil-rich region was just to protect vital installations and facilities.
“That is our role as far as Niger Delta is concerned”, he said. He further said, “Personally I have been in places where you have militants� more than the Niger Delta.
People keep talking of Niger Delta, but I don�t look at the Niger Delta issue as a very threatening issue, and don�t forget they are Nigerians, our brothers, our sisters and our parents and like I used to say, soldiers are there doing just as they are doing in Enugu here. There are places and areas soldiers are protecting. I don�t think the situation in the Niger Delta has reached a situation that is threatening; if you want a threatening situation you talk of the former Sierra Leone, the former Liberia.” The Army Chief of Staff expressed satisfaction that the President has taken steps to find political solutions to the problem saying. “We don�t want a situation where we start regretting just as we are regretting the civil war; we don�t need to resort to war to solve our problems.”
“We don�t need to go to war; people now have their rights and these rights are obeyed and that is the rule of law, what more do you need?”, he wondered Earlier while addressing men of the Nigerian Army at the parade ground of the 82 Division, Lt. Yusuf told his men that the army was going through total reform and warned officers to focus attention on their areas of responsibility.
“It�s a time when everybody has to refocus in his own section. If it is internal security for instance, you have to know the rules, you must justify all your actions”, General Yusuf told the officers.
He however warned them that the days of brutalization of civilians on the street in the name of internal security were over, adding that offenders would face severe penalties.
“If you understand what internal security is all about and how it is done, the army doesn�t come up until when the police is unable to contain the situation. The army is the last resort, but that does not mean that we have to be brutal because everything we do has rules and regulations.
“Like I always say, if out of fear rioters disappear, there is no need firing a shot, unless our lives are threatened in the process of doing our job, but even then, there are still rules and regulations and I am saying that these rules and regulations must be adhered to and once we adhere to them, that�s when we become real professionals.”
He also warned soldiers against engaging in conflicts with personnel from other security outfits like the Police, the Navy, Immigration and others, urging them to see other security agents as partners rather than enemies or rivals.
General Yusuf also frowned at the involvement of soldiers in illegal duties and armed robbery warning that the army had no place for any one of them caught in such endeavours.