Remain focused, make sacrifices for Nigeria – ex Naval Chief tells Armed Forces  

By Muhammad Tijjani
 Former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm Jibrilla Ayinla (Rtd),on Tuesday, admonished military personnel to remain focused, saying the diligent discharge of their duties entailed utmost sacrifice.
Ayinla stated this in Kaduna at a seminar organised for personnel of Department of Maritime Warfare, Senior Course 44, Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State.
He reminded the personnel that by its nature, their profession was not cut out for people whose utmost desire was to become rich.
“This job is not the type to make money; the oath you took to sacrifice your life for the nation is paramount; any other thing should be subsumed by the service”, he advised.
Ayinla tasked the officers to be innovative in tackling challenges, especially in this era of scarce resources.
According to him, armed forces personnel should continue to play their role in strengthening the unity of the country by overcoming all challenges.
“In the Armed Forces, religion, ethnicity and other differences have no room; productivity is what is obtainable and what a personnel is able to contribute to the defense of the country is what is desirable,” he said.
Earlier, the Commandant of AFCSC, AVM Olurotimi Tuwase, said the seminar was to enhance students’ understanding of the laws guiding operations in the sea.
Also, the Director, Department of Maritime Warfare, Cdr Kehinde Odubanjo, said maritime security had changed as a result of the varying dynamics and the emerging transnational nature of maritime threats in the maritime domain.
According to him, the future of global maritime domain is uncertain because the threats to maritime security, which require interventions, do not only continue to occur, but also present new and frightening dimensions in the last decades.
Odubanjo however noted that threats in Nigeria’s maritime domain had, over time, been attributed to several factors, among which are weak maritime governance, poor inter-agency cooperation, weak judicial system and weak implementation of existing legal framework.
“This underscores the need for this all-important seminar, giving us the opportunity to deliberate and suggest how effective implementation of existing legal framework can contribute to combating threats, and in turn, enhancing security in Nigeria’s maritime environment”, he said.(NAN)