The Nigerian Army has in an official statement
said they are not in possession of the original
or copies of the credentials of the presidential
candidate of the APC, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari. The Director, Army Public Relations,
Brig, Gen O. Laleye said this when he
addressed news men at a press conference in
Abuja today Jan. 20th.
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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