The Presidency has declared that the Nigerian Army is no longer ‘an army of anything goes’ unlike in the past.

It boasted of several interventions made by President Muhammadu Buhari to reposition the military since he came into office in 2015.

It, however, lamented how the former presidents, especially Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Gen. Sani Abacha, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan destroyed the Nigerian Army.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a piece titled ‘NO LONGER ‘AN ARMY OF ANYTHING GOES’ recalled how the military was rendered prostrate by the former presidents.

Adesina noted that Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, incidentally a former Chief of Army Staff himself, rendered the institution prostrate and comatose, “so much so that it was almost not able to shoot firecrackers again, not to talk of guns, light or heavy.”

He stated that “an administration that is out to feather its own nest won’t spend billions of naira to equip its military.”

The Presidential spokesman stated that “what Babangida started was consummated by Sani Abacha, and Olusegun Obasanjo, two other Generals of the Nigerian Army. It became truly “anything goes,” to the disquietude and sorrow of some officers trained in the finest traditions of the military.”

Adesina stated that the Nigerian Army, like every other institution can degenerate.

His words: “Our army had done exploits in Burma, in Congo, at different peace keeping operations in many parts of the world, but by 1993, it had deteriorated to become “an army of anything goes.” Like disorganized Boy Scouts. Pity!

“Why should we believe that unflattering appellation? Because it came from one of its very own, a well-respected Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Salihu Ibrahim.

“Ibrahim had commanded the army from August 1990 to September 1993, and when he was retiring, he lamented that the once revered institution had become ‘an army of anything goes’.”

“There was hardly a whimper in protest, because the army itself knew that its Chief spoke the truth. Many years before then, a police spokesman, Alozie Ogbugbuaja, had said all that officers of the army knew how to do was to plan coups, drink beer, “and eat pepper soup.” Great was the umbrage, and that impudent policeman was run out of town.

“But by the time Salihu Ibrahim spoke in 1993, the pepper soup was almost no longer there.”

The Presidential spokesman stated that with the right leadership President Buhari is providing, the Nigerian Army has got its groove back.

“It is discharging its duties to the country and the citizens, making the ultimate sacrifice when necessary, so that you and I may live in peace and be safe…It is surely no longer “an army of anything goes,” Adesina said.

“The situation was not radically better under subsequent Presidents, until that thoroughbred soldier, an officer and gentleman from Daura came. It is said that you cannot likely effect change in a system, unless you were sufficiently vexed with the inadequacies of that system. Muhammadu Buhari did not do any other thing after school, other than soldiering. So he knew the Nigerian Army in its days of glory, and he also saw when it had degenerated into “an army of anything goes.”

“It is on record today that no Nigerian leader has trained, equipped and motivated the army as much as Muhammadu Buhari has done. The Nigerian Navy and Air Force would have their days, but let us focus on the Nigerian Army today,” he added.

On efforts made by Buhari, Adesina said: “Right on Inauguration Day, the new President in 2015 directed that the command centre of the war be moved to the North-East, which was the epicentre. And he took personal interest in the equipping, training and motivation of the military.

“The result today is that the Nigerian Army has never been better positioned to discharge its duties. One is not saying everything is perfect, but it is a far cry from the days of “anything goes.” Discipline is restored, esprit de corps is revived, and honor reigns again.

“An administration that is out to feather its own nest won’t spend billions of naira to equip its military. But the United States of America bears testimony that it has sold $593 million worth of military equipment to Nigeria under Buhari. The same administration has committed a total $100 million to the Multinational Joint Task Force fighting Boko Haram between 2015 and now. A contract of $152 million was signed with China, and tanks and artillery guns/trucks were recently taken delivery of. I repeat: when a government is out to steal, it does not equip, train or motivate the military. They become “an army of anything goes.”