The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen AB Dambazau presenting his welcome address at the occasion

1.             I am most delighted to welcome you all to the Commissioning Ceremony of the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Forward Operating Base (FOB) Abuja. Let me start by thanking Almighty God for his mercies and grace upon us to see yet another year and to be part of this august occasion. This event is another mile stone in the history of the Nigerian Army’s participation in Peace Support Operations (PSOs). 

The CDS, unveiling the Plaque to commissioning the Nigerian Army Forward Operating Base while the Chairman Senate Committee on Defence watch with keen interest

Cross section of dignitaries in a group photograph at the commisioning ceremony

2.             The establishment of FOB is part of our efforts to enhance Nigerian Army’s participation in PSOs. In the last one year, a lot has been done to improve the state of our Contingent Owned Equipment by injecting new B-vehicles, Armoured Personnel Carriers and assorted self-sustainment equipment, including spare parts, into the mission areas.  By the same token, the Nigerian Army has recently acquired large stock of logistics items ranging from uniform, boots, fragmental jackets, messing kits and tentages among others that would sufficiently cater for troops embarking on PSOs for sometime. Troops earmarked for PSOs now go through a well packaged 10-week Pre-deployment Training in their various units and at the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre in Jaji.  

3.  The Nigerian Army has also graduated from the traditional contribution of troops primarily for infantry role to provision of medical, engineering and communication services. In Darfur, the Nigerian Army has a Level II Hospital while an engineer squadron is being put together for the United Nations Mission in Central Africa Republic and Chad. Nigerian Army Reference Hospital currently under reconstruction is to be equipped to a UN Level IV Hospital. On completion of this hospital, injured Nigerian troops will be brought home for treatment instead of Egypt, Ghana and Kenya where Level IV Hospitals are currently available.   

4.             The idea of establishing state-of-the-arts FOBs; this one in Abuja and the second in Ikeja Cantonment, Lagos still under construction, is borne out of desire to ensure troops earmarked for PSOs are launched fresh into the theatre of operation and their units on return to Nigeria.  FOB Abuja is fully equipped with facilities to provide minimum comfort for the troops and condition them to the kind of environment they will be operating. The base can accommodate a standard UN battalion of 800 troops and a Camp Security Organization of platoon strength.  

5.             Also to compliment the FOB, are the 10 Tourismo Buses lined up at the car park. The buses are essentially to convey troops to and from their units to the ports of embarkation and disembarkation through the FOB. Apart from complimenting the FOB, the purchase of the buses was borne out of the quest to prevent a repeat of the unfortunate incident in 2008 in which troops who had successfully accomplished their mission lost their lives some kilometers away from their unit in a road traffic accident (may their gentle soul rest in perfect peace).  Today, troops earmarked for PSOs are moved in a well composed military convoy to and from the ports of embarkation/disembarkation. This and other measures put in place to enhance the condition of our troops in PSOs are things to be proud of, and by special grace of God, we will continue to ensure that the Nigeria Army and indeed Nigeria fulfill their obligations to the international community. 

6.             The Nigerian Army and indeed the entire Nigerian Military has since the independence of our great Nation contributed to ensuring global peace and security through our involvements in PSOs. From Congo and Tanzania in 1960s, Chad and Lebanon in the 1980s through Liberia, Yugoslavia and Sierra Leone in the 1990s and presently in Sudan, Nigerian troops operated in environments marked with violence and in some cases paid the supreme price, to which many of our colleagues lost their lives.  Today we are honouring some of our departed colleagues in a medal presentation ceremony while a lot of others who were injured and permanently incapacitated are living amongst us in sorrow.   

 7.             Back home, the Nigerian Army is more or less the first line of defence for the citizens of this country due to our constant involvement in internal security operations in 33 states of the Federation, in addition to the special deployment in the Niger Delta, all in aid of civil authority.  This trend has become the norm rather than the exception because of the increased state of insecurity due to violent crimes of armed robbery, kidnappings and pipeline vandalization in the country and of course the inability of local law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, to discharge their roles efficiently. In some of these operations, some officers and soldiers had lost their lives while others were seriously injured.  We grief for the departed souls and sympathize with the injured, but these are part of the price we have to pay for the Unity, Peace and Progress of our dear Country as enshrined in the Constitution and on our emblem.    

 8.             The Special Guest of Honour, distinguished invited guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.  The Nigerian Army has in recent times noted with dismay some of the unnecessary, unwarranted and inflammatory comments, statements and utterances in some quarters capable of creating a sense of insecurity and dragging us back to the dark days of our nation’s history. We are equally aware of the attempt by some people to drag the Army which has remained neutral but absolutely committed to the survival of our nascent democracy into the political affairs of this Country.   We also noted that some persons who apparently do not value peace are hell-bent on creating disaffection between the military and the public, particularly with reference to the Jos crisis.  Of course, we can safely assume that such persons find it impossible to commit other atrocities whenever we deploy to keep the peace, hence their frustration. Lest we forget the military was swift and decisive in containing the Boko Haram debacle and will therefore not hesitate to equally deal decisively with any form of mayhem whenever the need arises.   However, it is imperative that trouble makers in our midst, who are a negligible few, are not allowed to promote anarchy and their personal interest at the expense of our collective national interest and public order.  This is most important especially because our experiences in peacekeeping operation have shown that at the end of it all, it is the poor, the elderly, women and children that are the victims of such crises. 

9.  The military has made a lot of sacrifices for peace and stability in our dear nation, and will continue to maintain its neutral status, despite efforts to discourage that through campaigns of calumny recently experienced.  We have seen the extent to which ethnic and religious crises ravaged many countries the world over, and we participated in post-conflict stabilization in many of such countries, we do not pray that we reverse the position in which other countries are sent to Nigeria for peace support operations. We want to state categorically that, in the Nigerian Army our Religion is Espirit de Corp while our Tribe is the Military Profession and our training has placed us above primordial sentiments.  The barracks is not a political battlefield, and our soldiers are not tools to be used for creating disunity.   The Nigerian Army affirms its commitment to its constitutional responsibilities and will continue to contribute meaningfully to the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria. We have said repeatedly that, the subsisting democratic environment in the Country, today gives us a lot of advantage in the pursuance of professionalism. The Nigerian Army urges all stakeholders in our national affairs to eschew violence and promote peace and tranquility in Nigeria. This advice is borne out of our experiences of the consequences visited on countries that have gone through crisis lately. 

10.          Let me sincerely thank the Special Guest of Honour, the Chairmen and members of the Senate and House Committees on Defence and Army here present, the Chiefs of Naval and Air Staff and other distinguished personalities for finding time out of their tight schedule to grace this occasion. My thanks also go to our good friends from the United Nations Headquarters in New York, I appreciate your presence in our midst this morning. On this note, let me remind all officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army to remain loyal to constituted authorities and be wholly committed to their constitutional responsibilities, and be apolitical at all times. Finally, it is my pleasure to welcome everybody to the Commissioning Ceremony of the Nigerian Army Forward Operating Base, Abuja. Thanks and God bless you all.