The Nigerian Army says it does not have in its possession the original
or copies of the credentials of the presidential candidate of the APC,
Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. The position of the army was made known at a
press conference in Abuja today Jan. 20th. The Director, Army Public
Relations, Brig, Gen O. Laleye addressed news men. What he said below...
Gentlemen of the Press, I am pleased to welcome
everyone back from the Christmas and the 2015 New Year festivities. On
behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, officers and soldiers of the Nigerian
Army, I wish you all a happy and more fulfilling 2015. Since our last
media briefing on 31 December, 2014, some issues relating to the
Nigerian Army have occurred and this briefing is holding specifically to
address them.
I will begin with the Major General Muhammadu
Buhari certificate controversy.
Gentlemen, let me state clearly that the
Nigerian Army holds the retired senior officer in very high esteem and
respect and would not be a party to any controversy surrounding his
eligibility for any political office. Suffice to state that Major
General Buhari rose steadily to the enviable rank of Major General
before becoming the Head of State of our dear country in December 1983.
The media hype on retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s credentials
as well as the numerous requests made by individuals and corporate
bodies to the Nigerian Army on this issue have necessitated that we
provide the facts as contained in the retired senior officer’s service
record.
Records available indicate that Major General M Buhari applied
to join the military as a Form Six student of the Provincial Secondary
School, Katsina on 18 Oct 61. His application was duly endorsed by the
Principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended
him to be suitable for military commission. It is a practice in the NA
that before candidates are shortlisted for commissioning into the
officers’ cadre of the Service, the Selection Board verifies the
original copies of credentials that are presented.
However, there is no
available record to show that this process was followed in the 1960s.
Nevertheless, the entry made on the NA Form 199A at the point of
documentation after commission as an officer indicated that the former
Head of State obtained the West African School Certificate (WASC) in
1961 with credits in relevant subjects: English Language, Geography,
History, Health Science, Hausa and a pass in English Literature.
Neither the original copy, Certified True Copy (CTC) nor statement of
result of Major General M Buhari's WASC result is in his personal file.
I hope this explanation will put to rest the
raging controversy surrounding the secondary school credentials of Major
General Mohammed Buhari as it affects the Nigerian Army.
I will also seize this opportunity to make some
observations on the recent CNN report titled 'The Battle Against Boko
Haram', which was aired a few days ago. I believe we all hold the CNN in
high esteem. However, CNN’s report on issues concerning kitting,
equipment, medical treatment and corruption in the Nigerian Army is
perhaps the best example of a media house’s show of bias, ignorance,
poor journalism, unprofessionalism and handiwork of a sponsored
documentary.
Let me start with kitting. It would interest you to know that there is
no Army in the world where personnel do not purchase additional uniforms
and kits to augment those officially issued to them. Accordingly, the
Nigerian Army without fail issues uniforms and kits to its personnel
periodically.
Like other armies, the NA has over the years, established
ordnance shops in all its barracks and cantonments where uniforms and
kits are sold at subsidized prices to its personnel from allowances
already provided in their pay slips.
Similarly, you will agree with me that the NA has a very functional
health care delivery system in the country. There is no barrack or
cantonment that does not have at least one Medical Inspection Room,
Medical Reception Station or Medical Hospital.
The NA fully subscribes
to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and this is functional in
all its health facilities. Specifically, personnel in the North East
have the best medical treatment in that the various health facilities in
all the barracks and cantonments are well equipped. Notwithstanding
this, personnel with extensive injuries are evacuated to the 44 Nigerian
Army Reference Hospital Kaduna (44 NARHK), while others are promptly
flown abroad for medical treatment. Therefore, issue of a soldier of
the NA paying for treatment and drugs covered by the NHIS is absurd.
The Nigerian Army’s undoubted operational gains in the North East of
recent, have rubbished the claim of Boko Haram out-gunning the NA.
The
CNN would do well to beam its searchlight on the atrocities of Boko
Haram terrorists against innocent and defenseless Nigerians rather than
the NA. Equally, the NA in the past had requested severally that any
evidence of corruption in the NA should be reported to the appropriate
authority. Till date, no such evidence has been forwarded but rather all
we see and hear are sweeping statement of the purported corruption in
the NA. In the case of Nick Robertson, his leading questions and
introduction of the word ‘corruption’ to the unknown person purported to
be a soldier of the NA was most unprofessional and merely justifies a
paid exercise. The CNN in the past have interviewed authorised
personnel of other countries’ armies and not unauthorized hooded
criminals to speak to the media.
The CNN knows very well how to contact
the relevant offices to clarify issues concerning the NA but chooses
rather to conduct a clandestine interview in a kiosk with a faceless
person and a masked individual who obviously know nothing about the NA.
Finally, the Nigerian Army wishes to state that
it will remain focused on its mission to rid Nigeria of terrorism and
insurgency. To that end, it has commenced the implementation of the
extensive operational, administrative and logistical decisions reached
during 2014 COAS Annual Conference. In no distant future, law abiding
Nigerians will begin to see very positive results in terms of security,
particularly in the North East and our dear nation generally.
Before I depart, I once again seize this opportunity to reiterate the
NA’s unalloyed loyalty and subordination to civil authority as presided
over by His Excellency, President and Commander – in – Chief of the
Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan GCFR.
The Nigerian Army also wishes to emphasize its adherence
to the principles and respect of human rights in the discharge of its
constitutional duties. It further calls on everyone to remain vigilant
and report any suspected breach of the peace to security agencies.
Thank you and God Bless.
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