The Nigerian Army (NA) has taken note with dismay of a malicious and organized smear campaign by Sahara Reporters, which aims to incite troops, heat up the political system, and destabilize the nation by raising phony, baseless, and unfounded alarms about corruption, nepotism, and racial and religious bigotry within the NA. A report that is completely at odds and out of alignment with the NA’s and the Nigerian Armed Forces’ ideals and representation of national unity is the best way to describe it. The report also included some unimaginable insults meant to disparage and demonize the selection process for qualified soldiers for Peace Support Operations (PSO), which has over the years brought the NA well-deserved praise and elevated it to a prestigious position among other countries engaged in international defense as a disciplined, hard-fighting institution.
In a statement, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director of Army Public Relations, said that the unprofessional and careless way the smear allegations by Sahara reporters against the NA were crafted shows a delusional perception and an appalling lack of knowledge about the standard procedures of deployment exercises in the NA. The insatiable ambition of Sahara Reporters to cause chaos and the breakdown of law and order in an effort to provoke violence and destabilize the country has only been further crystallized by their intransigent attitude.
It is prudent to note that the underlying goal—or at least one of them—of the notorious online media in disseminating such toxic mixtures at this crucial time is to sow discontent among a strong, unified military.
The Nigerian Army was dressed in an unsuitable costume of notoriety intended to stir up unwarranted slander in order to divert the NA, and it is obvious that purposeful fabrication and odious storylines manufactured by the online media served this purpose.
The online news report could have been disregarded given its history of amateurish and Yellow Pages journalism, but the intolerable falsehood being spread necessitates clarification in the interest of well-meaning Nigerians and in honor of selfless officers and soldiers who continue to pay the price for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country as well as international peace.
It has been established that the officers and men of the NA have experienced exceptional positive changes in the morale, fighting spirit, and physical components of the force under the current leadership, unlike anything that has ever happened before. Therefore, it is essential to declare unequivocally that posting and redeployment in a variety of formations and units, including the Army Headquarters, is a regular exercise designed to make sure that the NA is adequately staffed for operational efficiency and effectiveness. Additionally, the NA has been particularly strict with the requirements for choosing people to work in the PSOs over the years, among them that troops must have taken part in active counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations in the North East for at least two years.
Given the amount of combat and logistics equipment injected into the theatres of operations, which has undoubtedly turned the tide against the complex array of threats facing the country, it is well documented that the NA has never had it so good. This is true even if the online media and those who supplied it with all the lies it published are unaware of it. This is in addition to the welfare reforms that the NA’s current leadership has proposed. In addition to the timely payment of salaries and operational allowances, welfare flights have also been started, greatly easing the strain on soldiers traveling to and from the theaters to visit their loved ones. This is in addition to a significant commitment to the communities around the barracks as well as the medical requirements of commanders and troops wounded in battle. Scholarships are also given to the kids and grandkids of servicemen and officers who lost their lives in action. It is important to highlight that there are conscious efforts being made to offer favorable working and living circumstances for soldiers and their families throughout all NA Barracks. NA personnel around the country are benefiting from these interventions, which take the form of substantial barracks construction and restoration projects with obvious footprints.
Given the unprecedented improvement in the NA, one should be enquiring as to the hidden agendas driving the online media’s gullibility to the antics of conflict merchants and agents provocateurs who are uneasy with the Nigerian Army’s steadfastness, patriotism, sacrifice, ruggedness, and resoluteness in putting an end to terrorism, banditry, and other violent crimes plaguing the country and the West African sub-region.
Those who are interested in separating rogue journalism from professional journalism should consider the possibility that the internet media is doing it to destabilize the country for their own selfish interests. The brave commanders and troops of the NA are unafraid, undistracted, and unaffected by the illogical claims made in that naughty report, so let those who invented the lies know that.
The vain attempt by the writers of this irresponsible study to malign the NA by giving its activities an ethnic, religious, and nepotistic tinge is nothing more than a shameful attempt to entice unwary members of the public with prejudiced bargains that are deeply laden with sinister intent. The NA continues to represent national unity and cannot afford to be divided along ethno-religious lines, it must be made unmistakably apparent.
Here, it must be stated that the NA, under the current leadership, has remained steadfast in upholding its constitutional obligations and will vehemently carry out welfare initiatives for the benefit of every employee. Instead of attempting to sow discontent among the troops, commanders should recognize how hard the troops serving in active operational engagements are working to defend the country.
All NA employees are advised to remain unwavering and unswayed by the antics of unpatriotic forces who, for their own selfish reasons, aim to throw the country into anarchy.
