The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.Taoreed Lagbaja, on Monday, visited Sokoto State to celebrate Christmas with troops of Operation Hadarin Daji.
While addressing the troops at Gingiya Military Barracks, Sokoto, the Army chief commended troops for putting in their best in the fight against insecurities within the state and beyond.
“I, therefore, send my goodwill messages to the troops and their families with a sense of pride and appreciation. I want to congratulate the troops for making it this far into the year and for weathering all the big storms that came our way.
“As we celebrate this Christmas and the New Year season, I want to take a moment to express my genuine respect and act of gratitude to our gallant troops for their unwavering dedication and sacrifice in ensuring the safety and security of our great nation.
“I commend your courage and resilience in the face of adversity in the Nigerian states. It is part of this that they cannot make it down to Sokoto to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones, it is not as if they don’t want to but because they are duty-bound to stand on the ground and safeguard our villages and hamlets.
“They have the responsibility to stand on the ground, while other families are celebrating Christmas together, they are celebrating their own on the field or their cantonment.”
He said the leadership of the Nigerian Army had designed so many measures to encourage troops in the field. “Some of these measures are tangible while some are intangibles. The tangible includes the induction of more combat enablers; we are going to bring more vehicles, and we are going bring more equipment to enable our troops to go after the criminals
“The intangible one is what you can see physically here; the Chief of Army Staff to come physically on Christmas Day to meet with the troop and encourage them to do more. Overall, I believe the troops will continue to record successes and return peace back to Sokoto and beyond.”
