By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
Theater Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, Major General Shaibu Wahidi, has highlighted the longstanding friendship between Nigeria and the UK, spanning decades.
Maj. Gen. Wahidi made this statement while welcoming the Defence Adviser, British High Commission Abuja, and Head of British Defence Staff (West Africa) to the North East Theater Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.
Wahidi emphasized that the presence of Lord Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for Defence, reinforced this assertion. He expressed his pleasure in welcoming Lord Coaker and his entourage to Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State, also known as the “Home of Peace”.
He said: “The mandate of the JTF (NE) OPHK is to facilitate the Restoration of Normalcy in the NE Region to Enable Socio-Economic Activities to Thrive.
” This mandate not only places on us the responsibility of defeating insurgency in the Northeast, but also to support the civil authority to reestablish an enabling environment for the citizens to return to normal life.
“This provide an opportunity for IDPs to return to their ancestral homes to re-establish livelihoods and promote economic prosperity both individually and collectively as a community.
“The fulfillment of such a mandate requires that troops are not just equipped with the necessary materials but also the knowledge and refresher trainings required to keep them abreast of the correct ways to handle evolving security challenges.
“The JTF (NE) OPHK has ensured the constant training and retraining of its personnel through the Theatre Training School which is responsible for the conduct and coordination of training activities throughout the theatre of operation within the Northeast.
“As we know, military diplomacy is the one of the essential constituent of international diplomacy used to foster both bilateral and regional relationship. And military training cooperation is also an essential ingredient of that military diplomacy.
“Hence over the years, the BDS-WA has made significant contributions not only to our efforts in Counter Insurgency, but also in our training efforts by giving our troops the required knowledge and skills to discharge their tasks especially as it relate to CIED ops.
“The BDS-WA has provided support in Counter IED training, Tactical Instruction for Trainers and Instructors, the provision of Counter IED equipment and the establishment of a Counter IED Coordination Cell,” Wahidi said.
The theater Commander added that the establishment of the Counter IED Coordination Cell provides the Theatre with a hub to gather all kinds of information about the IEDs used by the insurgents, pointing out that, the information will allow us develop intelligence that will lead to dismantling the network which gives the insurgents the capabilities to make and deploy IEDs in the Northeast and across Nigeria.
“We find this hub very useful indeed and your team has been doing well in terms of providing mentorship to get the cell up and fully running.
” The various IED detection and clearance equipment, office equipment and furniture, tactical intelligence kits, laptops and a 5 Kva generating set among others, have contributed to providing our troops with the tools needed to detect, neutralize and disarm IEDs effectively,” Shaibu said.
In the same vein, The Instructor Development Programme being implemented in collaboration with the BDS-WA brings instructors and potential instructors from across the theatre of operations and the Multinational Joint Task Force together for an intense 6 week train-the-trainer course.
He noted that the programme has the objective of developing a group of instructors across the theatre and MNJTF, so that the different sectors can organize trainings for their troops while the participation of the troops from MNJTF also provided the opportunity for our troops and troops from other nationalities of the Lake Chad Basin Countries to train together which presents a platform for fostering camaraderie amongst our troops and synergy in operations.
According to him, it is important to note that the contributions of the BDS-WA has been done with adequate consultation with my staff. This has ensured that the various support provided are relevant, efficient and timely.
The theater Commander also recognized the BDS-WA contributions to JTF (NE) OPHK in the form of expertise brought by the various UK troops and resource personnel has been a significant contribution to our ongoing efforts at improving our ability to respond to threats and prevent unnecessary casualties to both troops and civilian while making gains towards defeating the insurgents.
“On behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen CG Musa, OFR and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen OO Oluyede – NAM, we once again thank the UK Government for the C-IED equipment donated to the Theatre
“I would also like to particularly thank the BDS-WA for the collaboration in supporting us to achieve our mandate. Once again I welcome you and your delegation to Maiduguri,” Wahidi said.
