By Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has charged mid-level commanders of the Nigerian Army to lead their subordinates by example in the ongoing effort to mitigate security challenges bedeviling some parts of the country.
General Lagbaja, who gave the advice while delivering a lecture on “Crafting My Command Philosophy As Chief of Army Staff Nigerian Army Within Nigeria’s Contemporary And Emerging Security Environment”, to students of Senior Course 46, at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, described leadership by example, as the most reliable leadership style, where the leader models the behavior he wants to see in his team members.
He opined that when one leads by example, one actively demonstrates the excellence he desires and do not just push team members towards excellence.
According to the Army Chief, his command philosophy is a commitment not just to ask any of his commanders or Principal Staff Officers, or anyone for that matter, to do what he is not willing or unable to do personally, hence he does not expect his commanders to ask their subordinates to do anything that they are not willing or are unable to do.
Director, Army Public Relations Brigadier General, Onyema Nwachukwu, quoted General Lagbaja as saying that his expectation is that commanders at all levels, lead by example and propagate such healthy culture across the Nigerian Army while maintaining that exemplary leadership will correspondingly impact positively on operational efficiency in the ongoing effort at tackling insecurity.
General Lagbaja, noted that under his watch, he will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the Nigerian Army remains operationally effective in all its endeavours.
The Commandant of the College, Air Vice Marshall Hassan Alhaji, who spoke at the end of the lecture, appreciated the Chief of Army Staff for practically taking the lead by delivering the lecture in person and sharing his thoughts to guide the officers on the direction he is taking the Nigerian Army.
He urged the officers to imbibe the leadership qualities espoused by the Army Chief to sharpen their capabilities as Commanders and effectively deliver on assigned tasks.
In another development, General Lagbaja earlier in the day, paid a visit to troops of 198 Special Forces Battalion at Afaka in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna state.
Addressing the troops, General Lagbaja expressed satisfaction on the operational engagements of the troops and lauded them for successfully clearing insurgents from the Rigasa – Afaka axis of the state.
He enjoined them to sustain the tempo of ongoing operations to completely clear insurgents from their hideouts and assured the troops that their welfare will be the priority under his command.
