Former Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor (Rtd) has revealed that he nearly resigned while serving as theatre commander in the Northeast during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Speaking in an interview with Channels TV from 9:22, General Irabor described the emotional toll of leading troops during the conflict. “While serving as theatre commander, I almost had a desire—in fact, I actually voiced out my desire to resign because of the burden at the time. Because you cry in your closet, but then you have to show a bold face to those you command. And then of course, there were a lot of gains that we made, but they didn’t know the pains that led to those gains. And then, of course, the losses that we were having—so a whole lot of things, and the pains were quite deep,” he said.
The retired general explained how his understanding of Nigeria’s security challenges deepened as he rose through the ranks. “I was posted to 3 Division. 3 Division then was in charge of the entire northeast before the creation of 7 Division. And so the entire Borno State, Adamawa State, Yobe, Bauchi, and Plateau State under 3 Division. And then I was the brigade commander under the division—signal brigade commander—and then I was now providing communication support for the then Operation Restore Order, which was beginning to evolve in addressing those issues. And I began to see that there were issues,” he stated.
General Irabor noted that his awareness of systemic security problems expanded significantly after serving approximately two years in that capacity. The 2014 Chibok girls kidnapping incident occurred during this period, and shortly afterward, he received a promotion and was briefly transferred to Army Headquarters before returning to the field.
According to the former defence chief, this experience gave him broader insight into challenges affecting not only the fight against Boko Haram but Nigeria’s overall defence and security architecture, revealing problems that extended beyond the immediate insurgency. View, More,
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