General Tukur Yusufu Buratai was appointed Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), in July 2015 at the inception of the first term tenure of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. He thus became the 18th COAS in the history of Nigerian Army. It should be mentioned that General Buratai came in at a most critical period in the war against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East. He came in as COAS when moral was at a particularly low ebb among officers and men of the Nigerian Army; that was a direct result of the lackadaisical attitude of the immediate past administration to the insurgency that threatened to over-run not just the North East but the whole country as a whole.
Before the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came into office, the previous administration for most part of its six years of existence had battled, albeit unsuccessfully the Book Haram terror group, adjusted at that time as one of the deadliest, if not the deadliest in the world, such was the enormity of the task. So the task of fighting terror was given to General Tukur Yusufu Buratai by his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Nigerian Army, and by extension, the man upon whom the biggest responsibility yet, in recent times fell upon not only to win, a most unconventional warfare against terror, but to organise a Nigerian Army, largely disillusioned, ill equipped, low in morale and had so suffered on many fronts, in organisation, motivation and infrastructure, more than in the front fighting terror. To General Buratai’s eternal credit ; he immediately invigorated the campaign against the Boko Haram insurgency. His coming marked a fresh beginning. We can now confidently say that, this very unassuming gentleman has equally achieved in legionary and legendary proportions by bringing his uniqueness into changing the Nigerian Army with his purposeful servant leader military style of leadership in which the high morale of the soldiers was brought back and trust restored between the rank and file and the various commanders.
He took the war down to the door steps of the Boko Haram terrorist. Nigeria began to push back the insurgency in leaps and in bounds . The Nigerian Army immediately began to recapture territories after territories from the Boko Harm terrorists and succeeded in pushing them out of towns to borders and hither lands. Today, there is no organize terror attacks of the kind we use to see before, only isolated soft targets suicide bombers, occasionally detonates mostly alone on self, as the capacity of the Boko Haram terrorist has practically been decimated and reduced to nothingness. But, had General Buratai not take over when he did, it is predictable the war may have overran the entire North East. Among other achievements, the Nigerian Army under General Buratai achieved in the words of the COAS himself, ” Improved Internal Security Operations, Effective Civil-Military Relations and Reorganisation of Army towards Professionalism”. The effectiveness of the Nigerian Army in the encouragement of the Internally Displaced Persons IDPs to return to their ancestral home was commendable. The Army commissioned OPERATION LAST HOLD to achieve this end and through that successfully returned over 5000 IDPs back to their communities. That was a boost to Civil-Military Relations.
Under the leadership of General Buratai, a total of 156 Army personnel were sent on foreign trainings in 2018 alone while 2, 390 of them have attended local courses and training the same year. The Nigerian Army also hosted an unprecedented 300 local and International conferences, seminars and summits. This was coupled with improved welfare packages that saw a lot of officers, many soldiers and their family members benefitted in the Nigerian Army Medical Evacuation both within and outside the country. General Buratai is a leader who motivates people both within and outside the Army to help them pursue their goals, focus on their thinking and shape decisions for the better of the society.
The partnership between Nigerian Army and the Defence Industry Corporation DICON for needed parts and small arms and ammunition improved tremendously. So also between the Nigerian Army and several indigenous companies such as Innoson Motors, Proforce Limited and Nigeria Machine Tools towards the production of light heavy armoured vehicles, critical equipments as well as protective clothings. This collaborations have led to the development of the TYB Rover, Infantry Patrol Vehicles and the Bionbion Helicopters.
Not to forget; that it was under General Tukur Buratai that the Nigerian Army University Biu NAUB was approved, established and it commenced academic programmes. The Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company NAVMC was also established and mobilized. The establishment of the Nigerian Army first ever Cyber Command to tackle fake news and the security of cyber domains; as well as the establishment of Human Rights Desk in all Nigerian Army formations were giant strides.
A lot can yet be achieved, but definitely the Nigerian Army has recorded giant strides under the able leadership of General Tukur Yusufu Buratai and the Commander in Chief President Muhammadu Buhari.
In concluding this article, we must salute the exemplary leader, a consummate Soldier and a meritorious Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, who came when his country needed him mostly and has continued to serve humanity and has impacted positively on his generation . His name in the annals of history, we are very sure of worthy, most irreproachable place in which he will be remembered for his selfless services rendered to our great nation, saving Nigeria from being consumed by terror. A General that has continued to stand by his Country and also behind his Commander in Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari. The war General is not tired, his army are always in high moral as the nation yearn for more of his gallantry and more giant strides in the years to come . This article was contributed by Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi. A Security Analyst and a Counter terrorist expert. He is the Convener of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Terrorism in Nigeria.
