Tinubu urges military cooperation in Africa

President Bola Tinubu has challenged Nigeria and its Lake Chad region neighbours to be brave in overhauling their military theory and practises.

Tinubu stated that the shift in tactics was required because countries in the region were fighting a’mobile and elusive irregular force’ that ignored conventional laws of warfare.

According to a State Department release on Friday, it was part of the President’s speech in Kaduna during the Senior Course 45 graduation ceremony of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji.

Tinubu stated that the sub-region’s enemies are not conventional armies engaged in regular battlefield fighting.

While encouraging African countries to collaborate against common challenges, the President praised Nigeria, Cameroon, the Niger Republic, and Chad for their efforts to bring peace to the Lake Chad region.

“We must also have the audacity to reform military doctrine and practise.” We are not fighting a traditional army on a traditional battlefield. No, we are up against mobile, evasive irregular forces that disregard conventional military standards.

“We must adapt in order to contain the threat. This will necessitate a shift in thinking, strategy, tactics, and equipment. The President also used the occasion to outline his National Security Objective, stating that it would “focus on ensuring security, justice, and democratic prosperity through state power,” Tinubu stated.

The President further stated that he is determined to using the entire apparatus of state authority to safeguard the safety of people and property in a just and democratic society.
He encouraged the military to defend the continent against geopolitical shifts and resource competition.