Insurgency Will Soon Be A History – Dan’Ali
Insurgency Will Soon Be A History – Dan’Ali
By ALEX UANGBAOJE
As Nigerian eagerly await the fulfilment of Minster president’s promise to end terrorism in Nigeria by December, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Dan’Ali, has once more assured the Nation that the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents will soon be a thing of the past.
Delivering his address at the Nigerian Air Force Base, Kaduna during the commissioning of projects for Training Command, Dan’Ali said he is fully convinced that the Nigerian military is the viable tool in tackling the problem of national security.
According to him, “I am convinced that the activities of these insurgents will soon be a thing of the past and all areas under occupation will be liberated for people to go about their normal lives.
“I am particularly impressed with the new approach of winning the heart and minds of the populace through advocacy and outreach programmes of the armed forces as emplaced by the current leadership of Mr President, Commander-in-chief.
“I sincerely commend the Nigerian Air Force for the successes recorded in the renewed vigour of routing out the insurgents and effectively degrading their capabilities.
“I am confident that this fight will bring more people into the fight against the insurgents thereby making the task of our armed forces much easier through the cooperation of the locals, especially in the provision of real time information and intelligence gathering.
“Let me assure you that the Federal Government will do everything humanly possible to rejuvenate the air force to meet its constitutional roles.
“I am fully convinced that the military remains the most veritable tool in tackling our contemporary national security challenges especially the ongoing fight against insurgency in the the North-eastern party of the country.
“I belief that, the potential exists in our armed forces and with the right strategic direction which I assure you of, we shall build a modern force capable of not only guaranteeing security in our dear nation but with the ability to project and sustain our leadership position in Africa and beyond.”
On his party, Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar said in order to overcome the challenges Nigeria is faced with as a Nation, there is need for knowledge, which is why NAF has decided to invest in training facilities so that officers will have the right environment to aquire knowledge.
”We are aware of the fact that this is an era of change and most change the way we do things, and therefore we quickly put together these infrastructures so that the instructor pilots and pilots that are coming in for flight training will a place to live so that they can pursue their training programmes without difficulties.
“In line with building capacities of our officers and men, currently we have over two hundred and fifty (250) personnels out Nigeria that are undergoing one form of training or the other.
“Before now the accommodation of our students were not in a condition that is conducive, that is why today we are commissioning six blocks of renovated and fully furnished cadet quarters which are capable of accommodating sixty cadet.
“A block of newly constructed and furnished pilot quarters, that is capable of accommodating twenty instructor pilots, we also have two blocks of newly constructed and furnished student pilots quarters that can accommodate a total of forty student pilots.
“We have also constructed and furnished a canteen for instructor and student pilots, cadet crew room and cafeteria. We have installed diamond flights simulator and resurfacing and extension of run-way.”
