Posted by From Madu Onuorah, Abuja on
THE presence of the United States (U.S.) troops in the Gulf of Guinea has been confirmed by the Nigerian Army.
THE presence of the United States (U.S.) troops in the Gulf of Guinea has been confirmed by the Nigerian Army.
But the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Martin Luther Agwai who made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja said they (the U.S. troops) were there as part of a joint exercise both countries are holding for their mutual benefits.
Agwai told reports that the U.S. troops (Navy and Marines) are engaged in the exercise, which also involves military personnel from other lands besides Nigeria.
The army chief also gave an insight into the circumstances surrounding the alleged June 17 killing of a Camerounian gendarme in the disputed Bakassi Peninsula.
Agwai explained that already, an officer who should have reported the incident as at when due has been sanctioned for dereliction of duty.
He, however, pledged to make the results of the investigations open immediately after conclusion.
The army chief, while addressing reporters on activities lined up for the Army's 142nd anniversary, said that Nigerians have no cause to lose sleep over the presence of the U.S. troops as it has become a routine aimed at fine tuning the military co-operation between the Gulf of Guinea region and the U.S. military.
"My vision is to have an army that is feared by our enemies, respected by our allies and loved by its citizens. So, in that vein, we are not going to operate alone. Take for example, from Saturday till the middle of next week, the Chiefs of Army Staff of both Ghana and Niger would be visiting Nigeria to participate in the Nigerian Army 142nd anniversary.
"The reason is that the more you know yourselves the less you have to fight among yourselves. We want to, and we have to remove fear by exercising with others. Yes, our personnel are exercising with them (the U.S. Marines and Navy). But it is not only in Nigeria's territorial waters that the exercise is taking place. Other countries (in the Gulf of Guinea) are participating. The exercise is taking place, but the U.S. Marines are not here to play any role in defending Nigeria. The exercise is nothing new.
Our troops were in Benin Republic where they held a joint exercise with their Beninois counterpart. The Marines are here for us to mutually help and understand each other. Truth is, the more you sweat in peacetime, the less you sweat in war," he said.
On the position of the investigations ordered by the Federal Government on the incidents that led to the death of the gendarme, Agwai explained that "on June 17th, there was an incident in the general area of Bakassi. That incident was not anything outside the locality. And the Federal Government has directed an investigation on our own side. The investigation is going on now. It will be wrong to deny that nothing happened. There was an alleged fire from Nigeria's side. And if it is true, it would have been accidental and not, I repeat, not a directive from any quarter. Maybe, out of carelessness, a shot could have been fired. But it was very localised and we are addressing it.
"After the alleged fire from our side, the other side is said to have fired mortar at our position. At the end of investigation, if we find that we have mistakenly fired on the other side, we won't hide it.
"We don't like war so much as to fire to trigger one. War can't be rushed. Nigeria has invested so much in the search for peace to want war like that. Nigeria has up to 4,000 troops on peace-keeping duties in other parts of the world. So, we could not just go to war."
The army chief also announced that the Federal Government is set to release a total of N3 billion to the Nigerian Army engineers. This, he said, was for the renovation of some of its houses and the reconstruction of roads in its barracks.
He also stated that the army has set in motion the machinery for reviewing all its ethics, customs and tradition as a way of returning discipline fully to the system.
In the same vein, the Army is reviewing the legal side of its peacekeeping operations in line with its Peace Operation Doctrine. This review would specify the deployment, performance and operation of all its peace support operations.
Under the programmes lined up for the celebrations, the Army will, for the first time in its history, build a comprehensive Museum to document its history and that of all departments. The museum will be sited at the Mambilla Barracks, Abuja.
On the Army Day - July 6, there will be parade at the Eagle Square, Abuja with special performance by the Army's special forces.