Hehehe...Former
Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh has disclosed that activities of
fifth columnists in the military and other security agencies who leaked
operational plans and other sensitive military information to Boko Haram
sect was a major challenge he faced while in office.
Badeh said this in his Valedictory Speech at his pulling-out ceremony from Nigerian Armed Forces on Thursday July 30, 2015.
Read more
He called for equipment for the military, improved welfare as well as
unity among security agencies as the country continue to battle Boko
Haram.
Full text of his speech
1.
It is with deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty God that I make this
valedictory speech today, on the occasion of my pulling out from the
Nigerian Armed Forces. When I commenced my career in the Nigerian Air
Force as a cadet in the Nigerian Defence Academy about 38 years ago,
little did I know that destiny will take me not only to the pinnacle of
my Service as the 18th Chief of Air Staff, but also to the position of
the 15th Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Looking
back at how God lifted me from my very humble beginnings, through the
various ranks and appointments to the pinnacle of my career, I can only
say a very big thank you to the Almighty God who directed my steps,
protected and empowered me to serve my beloved country. Like the saying
goes, “whatever has a beginning must surely have an end”. My journey in
the Service of my fatherland as a member of the Armed Forces of Nigeria
which began on the 3rd of January 1977 in the Nigerian Defence Academy
has finally come to an end. Accordingly as I bow out today, I look
forward to a deserved and happy retirement.
2. When I joined the
Armed Forces of Nigeria, I resolved to put in my very best in whatever
assignment I was given, in the service of my fatherland. Furthermore, I
purposed within me to be dedicated, loyal and committed to making a
difference in whatever task I was given to undertake. That resolve had
remained with me throughout my years in Service such that as I reflect
on the past, I rest in the firm conviction that I have given my best in
the service of my fatherland. That to me, is the least one could do in
appreciation to God and to a nation that has invested heavily in my
development as a military officer and as a human being.
3.
Occasions such as this, usually affords one the opportunity to reflect
on the past, share experiences, as well as project into the future.
Looking back at the years I spent in Service, I can only say I’ve had
the most exciting life anyone could wish for. My life in the Service has
been full of excitement, opportunities as well as challenges. The
opportunities I had to be trained as a pilot and to have flown to all
the continents of the world as well as working in various capacities
with some of the best and most patriotic members of the Armed Forces of
Nigeria, are memories that I will always cherish for the rest of my
life.
As
an Instructor Pilot, I had the awesome privilege of contributing to the
production of numerous pilots for the Nigerian Air Force, some of whom
are today occupying very important positions in the Nigerian military.
Also, the opportunity I had to serve as a Directing Staff and ultimately
as the Director National Military Strategy in the National Defence
College, afforded me the opportunity to contribute to the development of
strategic leaders for the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Furthermore, the
opportunities I had to serve as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of
Defence Staff have exposed me to the challenges of managing a national
institution like the military, in a very complex society like Nigeria
where divergent interests coupled with political, religious and tribal
affiliations often conflict with national interest. Despite the
challenges however, we remained focused to the tasks at hand, as a
result of which we were able to record some modest achievements.
4.
On assumption of office as the 18th Chief of the Air Staff, I
determined to consolidate on the achievements of my predecessors in
office, while taking steps to advance the Service beyond where I met it.
Accordingly, I re-appraised the management procedures of the Service
and re-focused it to exploit the innovative potentials of the highly
trained personnel of the Nigerian Air Force, towards ensuring some level
of self- sufficiency. We laid emphasis on home-grown initiatives and
innovative technology in order to ensure that the Service gradually
reduced its dependence on foreign supplies of critically needed tools
and equipment.
The emphasis on home-grown initiatives for
self-reliance was borne out of the challenges we did encounter, of total
dependence on foreign partners to meet our critical defence
requirements. There is no gain saying the fact that no nation can
exercise freedom of action in meeting its security aspirations while
totally dependent on foreign sources of supply for its arms and
equipment. Therefore, we looked inwards to harness available human
capital towards kick-starting our march to self-reliance. In that
regard, we mobilised some of the officers with Masters degrees and Phds
in various fields of aerospace vehicle design, avionics and armament
specialisations from the Cranfield University in the UK and formed them
into the Optimising Local Engineering (OLE) Teams 1 and 2.
The
teams were tasked to focus on developing an indigenous Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle (UAV) as well as finding workable local solutions to the various
challenges the Service had with respect to weapons systems and
munitions that were incompatible with some of the platforms we were
operating. The highpoint of these home-grown initiatives was the
production of the GULMA 1 UAV, which was unveiled by former President Dr
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR. Additionally, we embarked upon the local
training of UAV pilots, which saved the nation huge resources that
would have been spent were they to be trained overseas.
I am
particularly proud to state at this juncture, that the UAV pilots we
trained are currently the ones flying the Nigerian Air Force UAV’s in
the ongoing war against terror in the North East. Also, our team of
armament engineers were able to locally fabricate certain aircraft
components in addition to adapting hitherto abandoned rockets for use on
some of our platforms. These modest efforts helped to save the nation
huge funds that would have been spent to buy the components and
munitions overseas. In addition, aggressive R&D efforts were
embarked upon in all NAF units, where personnel were given opportunities
to showcase their talents.
The culminating point of our R&D
efforts was the first NAF R&D exhibition, which was held in the NAF
Base Abuja and drew participants from many universities and research
institutes in the country. Furthermore, the NAF signed MOUs with 12
Nigerian universities and research institutes, to give impetus to the
Services R&D efforts.
5. In areas of Human resource
development, we embarked on aggressive training innovations to produce
highly skilled technical personnel and pilots to ensure operational
effectiveness of the Service. A major challenge we inherited in the area
of human resource development, was the huge pilot generational gap that
existed as a result of the lack of pilots among the members of five
Nigerian Defence Academy courses some of whom were already Sqn Ldrs and
Wg Cdrs.
Faced with this challenge, I projected into the future
and found out to our dismay that the NAF was going to be faced with
problems of deploying these categories of officers to key leadership
positions which have been designated for pilots by establishment. In
other to solve this problem, I approved the training of some of the
officers who had been carefully screened and selected.
As it is
with such decisions, I faced lots of oppositions. However I remained
undaunted and today, most of these officers have completed pilot
training and are deployed to some of our flying units. That singular
determination to aggressively pursue the training of pilots has solved
the problem of generational gap for pilots in the Nigerian Air Force.
6.
As Chief of Air Staff, fleet enhancement and infrastructural
development were key drivers of my vision. Accordingly, we laid emphasis
on aggressive fleet maintenance of particularly the MI-35 attack
helicopters and Alpha-jet airplanes that formed the backbone of our
attack capability in the war against terror. We devoted huge resources
to reactivate and maintain this fleet of planes, such that even with the
losses we had due to enemy action, we were still able to conduct air
operations in support of the army unhindered.
Furthermore, we
embarked upon and completed various projects in all our operational
units. Among other things, we constructed a befitting hangar for the NAF
at Yola airport, in addition to constructing link roads which connected
the hangar/apron with the runway. We also constructed weapons storage
facilities, crew room for pilots and technicians, various categories of
accommodation for officers and men as well as the Air Force
Comprehensive School, Yola.
The aggressive development of
infrastructure at the 75 Strike Group in Yola during my tenure as CAS,
restored life to a base that was literally comatose before I took over,
to one that it is today, the hub of all NAF operations in the war
against terror. Other NAF units were also not left out in our drive to
improve infrastructure in the NAF. We continued from where my
predecessor left, by building aircraft shelters and storage facilities
in many of our operational units, while various categories of
accommodation for officers and men, as well as worship centres were
built. Overall, our modest achievements helped to reposition the NAF for
better service delivery.
7.
On assumption of duty as the CDS on 4 Feb 2014, I envisioned a Defence
Headquarters that would ensure effective co-ordination of the Armed
Forces of Nigeria, in order to meet the security aspirations of a united
democratic Nigeria. This became necessary in view of my desire to
galvanise the entire Armed Forces of Nigeria in support of Operation
ZAMAN LAFIYA, which was, and still is mainly an army operation.
Accordingly, we set to work, and with the excellent co-operation I
received from the Service Chiefs and Heads of other security and
Para-military organisations, we were able to record some notable
successes.
8. Notwithstanding the modest successes we recorded in
the fight against terror, I must say that the task of co-ordinating the
military and other security agencies in the fight against the insurgents
is perhaps the most complex and challenging assignment I have had in my
over 38 years in Service. For the first time, I was head of a military
that lacked the relevant equipment and motivation to fight an enemy that
was invisible and embedded with the local populace. Added to this, was
the exploitation of a serious national security issue by a section of
the press and the political class to gain political mileage.
Furthermore,
the activities of fifth columnists in the military and other security
agencies who leaked operational plans and other sensitive military
information to the terrorist, combined to make the fight against the
insurgents particularly difficult. The activities of these unpatriotic
members of the military not only blunted the effectiveness of the fight,
but also led to the needless deaths of numerous officers and men who
unwittingly fell into ambushes prepared by terrorists who had advance
warnings of the approach of such troops. The decision by certain
countries to deny us weapons to prosecute the war also added to the
challenges we faced.
9. Despite these challenges, I am glad to
note that a lot was achieved during our time in the fight against
terror. The achievements recorded are largely due to the commitment,
patriotism and fighting spirit of our men and women in uniform who saw
the fight against terror as a task that must be accomplished no matter
the odds and inspite of the campaign of calumny against the military by a
section of the media with their foreign collaborators. The support of
our teeming populace who have continued to stand behind their military
has been quite encouraging.
Also, our true friends who stood by us
in our time of need and provided us the weapons we are now using to
conduct the operations will always have a special place in our hearts. I
must also mention the support and co-operation we have continued to
enjoy from our neighbouring countries, which have enabled us to present a
united front against a common enemy. The great support we have
continued to receive and the determination of our patriotic troops to
defeat this enemy of our nation, has not only helped us to remain
focused, but to also embark on other projects for the armed forces.
10.
In the area of infrastructural development, I am happy to state that we
were able to record some achievements. On a routine tour of DHQ complex
on assumption of duty, I observed that the working condition in most of
the offices left much to be desired. Accordingly, I embarked on the
construction of the DHQ extension complex, to include a befitting Joint
Operations Room, a conference hall, the CDS office, offices for other
categories of officers as well as a Pent House where important visitors
to the DHQ are received by the CDS. I am happy to note that the
extension block has been successfully completed, furnished and fully in
use.
11. A major challenge we faced during my tenure was the
negative media coverage of the activities of the Armed Forces in the
ongoing war against terror in the North East. We therefore resolved to
have a medium through which we can tell our own side of the story in an
objective and accurate manner. This gave birth to the establishment of
the Armed Forces Radio, broadcasting on 107.7 FM from the Mogadishu
Cantonment. Also we were able to complete and commission the Armed
Forces DNA Laboratory in Mogadishu Cantonment.
12. As part of our
efforts to reposition the Armed Forces of Nigeria to better exploit
science and technology for enhanced operational effectiveness, we
established the Defence Space Agency and appointed a Chief of Defence
Space Agency to oversee and co-ordinate the activities of the Agency. I
am happy to state that the agency has since commenced work and recorded
some progress in its activities. However, because of the classified
nature of the activities of the Defence Space Agency, I am not at
liberty to reveal some of their achievement. These modest achievements
are in addition to over thirty other projects we have initiated and
completed that time will not allow me to enumerate.
13. All these
achievements would not have been possible without the effective support
of His Excellency, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR, the former president
and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria who appointed me
first as the 18th CAS and thereafter as the 15th CDS. I therefore use
this opportunity to deeply appreciate him for the privilege to have
served my country in these capacities. Furthermore, I want to thank
President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR for the opportunity given me to serve
under him for at least 6 weeks and his dogged determination to re-equip
and reposition the AFN to enable it perform its constitutional role of
effectively defending Nigeria’s territory.
14. This address will
not be complete without a special mention of the excellent working
relationship I had with my team, the immediate past Service Chiefs. I
therefore thank them for making my job as CDS very easy by virtue of
their co-operation. I must not also forget all the officers, soldiers,
ratings, airmen/airwomen and civilian staff that I worked with in
various areas. Thank you for all your support and co-operation.
15.
To my dear wife, Mrs Mary Iyah Badeh, children and family members, I
say thank you for standing by me through the joys and pains of my
service to our country. You provided a refuge of safety in the midst of
very turbulent times.
16. Above all, I deeply appreciate the
Almighty God who helped me, guided me and protected me throughout my
career. If it had not been the Almighty God who was on my side, I wonder
where I would have been today.
17. As I finally disengage, I have
this final message for my country men/women and the Armed Forces of
Nigeria. I want to state emphatically that no nation can achieve its
full security potentials by totally depending on other nations for its
defence needs. The lessons of the civil war and the ongoing war against
terror where certain countries frustrated our attempts to procure much
needed weapons are very instructive. Again, as I have always said, when a
nation is at war, it is not the military alone that is at war, it is
the entire nation.
Accordingly, every segment of society must see
itself contributing to the overall war effort, by presenting a united
front against a common enemy. Therefore, I appeal to the relevant
agencies of government to mobilise the huge human and material resources
we have in this country towards the development of a vibrant Defence
Industrial Complex that would contribute to meeting our critical arms
and equipment needs. This is crucial if we must reduce our total
dependence on foreign sources of supply for critically needed arms. That
is the only way we can retain our dignity as a nation in order to have
freedom of action in international affairs.
18. Permit me to also
add here, that nation’s militaries are equipped and trained in peace
time, for the conflicts they expect to confront in the future.
Unfortunately that has not been our experience as a nation. Over the
years, the military was neglected and underequipped to ensure the
survival of certain regimes, while other regimes, based on advice from
some foreign nations, deliberately reduced the size of the military and
underfunded it.
Unfortunately, our past leaders accepted such
recommendations without appreciating our peculiarities as a third world
military, which does not have the technological advantage that could
serve as force multipliers and compensate for reduced strength.
Accordingly when faced with the crises in the North East and other parts
of the country, the military was overstretched and had to embark on
emergency recruitments and trainings, which were not adequate to prepare
troops for the kind of situation we found ourselves in.
It is
important therefore for the government to decide on the kind of military
force it needs, by carrying out a comprehensive review of the nation’s
military force structure to determine the size, capability and equipment
holding required to effectively defend the nation and provide needed
security. This is based on the fact that without security, there cannot
be sustainable development. The huge cost that would be required to
rebuild the North East and other trouble spots in the country could have
been avoided if the military had been adequately equipped and prepared
to contain the on going insurgency before it escalated to where it is
today.
19. As I conclude, I want to leave the current leadership
and the entire members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria with my very best
wishes. Thank you all and God bless.
hehehe...Read the reaction from Nigerians after ex Chief of Defence
Staff Alex Badeh said he led a military that lacked equipment. And to
think that many soldiers were condemned to death for revolting over lack
of weapons. Sad. More of their tweets abeg
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“Some security agents leak plans to Boko Haram” – Badeh reveals at pull-out ceremony
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