Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde on Monday, called on the Nigeria Army officers, both retired and serving, to harness efforts in order to ensure the safety of lives and property of all the residents and citizens of the state, which he described as the utmost priority of his administration.
The governor stated this while declaring open the 4th Quarter Army Headquarters Veteran Affairs Directorate Seminar 2021, held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, with the theme, ” Harnessing Nigerian Army Veterans’ Influence to Enhance National Security and Cohesion”.
Makinde appraised the workshop as apt at a time like this saying, “The nation had reached a point where we need the skills of all, both serving and retired.”
A statement by the chief press secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that the governor was represented by his chief of staff, Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi, who commended the army for their gallant efforts, urging them to proffer solutions for improving national security in line with the theme of the seminar.
He said, “Indeed, we need a national approach to solve the myriad of security challenges facing our dear nation at this time. While rubbing minds on harnessing the skills of retirees to solve this problem, we must spare some thoughts on how we got here.
“There are many talents among the retirees, many of whom are retired but not tired and the workshop will do well to explore these skills and expose participants to the Nigerian values that they can take pride in.
“Most of these retirees are very tangible assets to sustaining national security and the workshop will help provide them with practical tools to cope with retirement and help in restoring national security.”
Addressing the veterans and other stakeholders at the 5-day event, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya, who was represented by the Chief of Army Administration, Major General Usman Muhammed, said the event was necessitated by the series of security challenges confronting the nation.
Yahaya asserted that the role of army veterans at the critical period of insecurity in the country cannot be neglected, hence the need for dialogue with the retired officers.
Yahaya stated, “We believe that the retirees have inherent capacities, having served for this long and they have also garnered experience while they were in service and we believe they are also closer to the society and members of the populace.
“So we believe if we organise this kind of seminar we will be in a position to tap into their wealth of experience by learning from them and soliciting their support and also getting requisite information that we think can help us to better operate in the society and to also understand the conduct of our operations and how we can carry out our operations better,” he explained.
Also speaking, the General Officer Commanding the 2 Division, Adekunle Fajuyi Cantonment, Odogbo, Ibadan, Major General Gold Chibuisi, urged the veterans and serving officers of the army to utilise their capacities to enhance optimal performance in ensuring the security of the nation, charging them to make the best out of the opportunities provided by the seminar.