Abuja —The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, said on Thursday that the war against terrorism in Nigeria would be successful.
Minimah said this at an event to mark the 2014 International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers organised by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in Abuja.

The COAS, who was represented by Brig.-Gen. Nuhu Angbazo, Director, Peace Keeping Operations, Army Headquarters, expressed the optimism that the government’s counter-insurgency efforts would bring peace, stability and progress.

He said: “I would like to emphasise the commitment of the Nigerian army to uphold and support the ideals of the United Nations, especially on issue of peace keeping and global stability.
Minimah said Nigeria was the fifth largest contributor worldwide for peace support operations and that is not far to fetch considering the fact that the country had challenges which made it able to provide some expertise in the field.

“We believe and are committed to ensuring that the outcome of countering terrorism in Nigeria would be successful and would result in peace.
“We have the support of our legislators. We also have the goodwill which the Nigerian Army has been enjoying from you, who pay the tax for us to be in uniforms today,” he said.

The army chief recalled that more than 120,000 personnel at different times between 1960 till date had served in Peace Support Operations (PSOs) globally.
He said more personnel, especially women, were recruited in the peace building proces, adding, “we are getting more involved and redefining it.

“We apply best practices in peace support operations even here in the country and we realise that the process of peace building is more practical when we have women involved.”