The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has emphasized the importance of citizens actively participating in ensuring the security of lives and property, rather than leaving the responsibility solely to security agencies.
Lagbaja made this statement while delivering the 2024 Distinguished Personality Lecture titled, “The Roles and Contributions of the Nigerian Army to National Development,” organized by the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies at the University of Ilorin.
Represented by the Chief of Training (Army), Major General Sanni Gambo Mohammed, he highlighted the impracticality of expecting around 2 million security personnel to safeguard Nigeria’s population of over 200 million.
“There is an erroneous belief that security is to be provided and ensured without interruption only and exclusively by the security agencies, particularly Nigerian Army wherever deployed,” Gen. Lagbaja said.
“This has led to apathy on the part of the public who feel less concerned except when their safety is directly threatened by activities of antisocial elements. The Nigerian Army along with other security agencies is under resourced.
“In a country of over 200 million people it is unrealistic for security operatives totalling around 2 million, including an army of just over 100,000 active personnel without a reserve force to secure the entire population.”
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) emphasized the Federal Government’s commitment to recruiting additional personnel for the army, as promised. He also acknowledged that the Nigerian Army, like other security agencies, faces resource limitations.
He identified four key challenges hindering the army’s optimal performance: inadequate funding, insufficient manpower, a lack of a robust industrial base, and a limited understanding of security issues among the Nigerian public.