By Evelyn Usman

Chief of the Army Staff, COAS Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, yesterday in Lagos, charged Regimental Sergeant Majors ,RSMs to be up to date in their responsibilities , especially with the engagement of the Nigerian Army in several internal security and counter terrorism operations in various theaters within the country.

He gave the charge while declaring open a 4-day convention organized for RSMs, with the theme ‘Building for RSMs in the Nigerian Army for Enhanced Regimentation’, held at Nebo hall,, headquarters of the Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps, Abati barracks, Ojuelegba, Lagos.

The COAS who was represented by the Chief of Administration, Nigerian Army, Maj.Gen Usman Mohammed, explained that the Convention was part of the Nigerian Army’s continued effort to build the capacity of the RSMs.

He stated that as custodian of discipline and regimentation in the NA, the RSMs occupied a crucial role in the Army.

He said : ” the two pillars of discipline and regimentation are vital ingredients for any professional Army which aligns with the philosophy of the COAS in building a professional NA ready to accomplish assigned missions within a joint environment in defense of Nigeria.

“We have training activities that are organized for the year and one of them is the RSM convention, it is particularly targeted at the Regimental Sergeant majors and these are the most senior Non Commissioned Officers among the troops.

“So ,if you build the capacity of the RSM, the tendency is that they will be equipped with the required knowledge and of course the modern trends within the environment , so that they can advise and be able to pass this knowledge down to the Non Commissioned which are the soldiers.

“Once this is done, it will have an impact in the way we conduct our operations: be it training, discipline, and other capacity building activities because the job of the RSM focuses on regimentation and maintaining the ethics and traditions of the Nigerian Army”.

He informed that in previous years, the RSM convention was held once, in any part of the country, with representatives drawn from all the Army’s units and formations across the country.

But the decision to expand it for better participation and wider spread was reached during last year’s convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, according to him.

He therefore disclosed that, ” for this year we are going to have one for the southern unit in the southern part of the country and the other for units in the northern part of the country.

” We are starting with the southern part of the country which is being hosted in 81 division ,which is Lagos. That is going to be focused on the units around 2 division, 81 division, 6 division and 82 division.Of course if you have that done, you would have addressed the participants in the southern part of the country.

“We are going to have another one in the fourth quarter of this year, in Kaduna state, that is going to address and have participants in 1, 8 , 7 and 3 divisions. It is still going to be the same lecture and training package. It is just to spread it and have a much wider spread and participation.

He expressed hope that at the end of the convention. the Nigerian Army would witness improvement in discipline and regimentation in all units, formathons and other Nigerian Army establishments across the Country,

Earlier in his welcome address, , the General Officer Commanding, GOC 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Umar Musa, urged the participants to take advantage of the Convention, informing that the training package was carefully selected to address contemporary challenges at regimental levels.

While expressing optimism that the participants would leave the convention better informed and equipped with the requisite knowledge to discharge their respective duties professionally , he however , advised them to maintain discipline during their stay in Lagos .

Delivering the first lecture titled “Building the Capacity of RSM through Proficient Training” Brigadier General Shuaibu Nuhu, enlightened the participants on the responsibilities and capacity requirements for RSMs. He also noted the challenges associated with capacity building of RSMs and suggested ways forward such as: capacity development of RSMs in the ongoing review of NA training policy and introduction of mandatory capacity development programmes for RSMs ,among others.

The first RSM convention in the south, attracted Principal Staff Officers from Army headquarters, Corps Commanders in Lagos, senior officers and over 250 RSMs drawn from NA units, formations, corps headquarters and training institutions across the country. .