The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, has urged military veterans to be drivers of peace, unity and progress within their neighbourhoods.
Irabor made the appeal in Ibadan, Oyo State at a one-day security parley with retired senior military officers in the South-west zone.
According to a statement by the deputy director, Defence Information, Air Commodore Wap Maigida, the CDS noted that military veterans could become the mouthpiece of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN).
The security meeting which was tagged “CDS Interaction with Retired Senior Military Officers in the Southwest,” was organised by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), and held at the Headquarters 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Ibaban.
He said the veterans were qualified and knowledgeable in defence and security matters to undertake the task of security enlightenment and sensitisation in their domains.
Gen. Irabor disclosed further that the AFN intend to leverage on the security meeting to boost the ongoing military operations.
He maintained that both serving and retired personnel are sold-out to the cause of unity, faith, peace and progress of the nation.
In his remarks, the Chief of Defence Military Cooperation (CDCMIC), Rear Admiral Fredrick Ogu, said the participants were expected to bring some salient issues to the attention of the DHQ and also proffer solutions.
He said the South-west interactive meeting was being held in Ibadan due to the cosmopolitan nature of the city and Lagos, both experiencing series of emerging security threats.
Rear Admiral Ogu highlighted that the participants would deliberate on the various security challenges confronting the Southwest zone.
The CDCMIC further disclosed that the security parley would be replicated in the other five geo-political zones at selected state capitals and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
In his welcome address, the General Officer Commanding, 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Gold Chibuisi, while thanking the CDS for hosting the maiden edition of the security parley in Ibadan, noted that it was indeed apt and timely given the emerging security threats experienced in the city of Ibadan and its environs in recent months.