Immediate past chief of defence staff Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin on Tuesday in Abuja officially pulled out of the Nigerian Army in a parade at the Mogadishu Cantonment, Asokoro.
Olonisakin pulled out following his retirement and appointment of his successor, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 26.
As part of the military tradition in honouring a retiring CDS, the event involved a march past by the officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
It was attended by the minister of defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd.); members of the National Assembly; Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi; new chief of defence staff Maj.-Gen. Irabor and other services chiefs.
Others in attendance were the traditional ruler of Ode-Ekiti, as well as a representative of the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.
Olonisakin thanked Buhari for counting him worthy to command the nation’s armed forces in the last five years.
He said that his appointment as CDS came at a time Nigeria was confronted with several security challenges like Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east.
Olonisakin said that confronting those threats was his major pre-occupation as CDS.
According to him, prior to his assumption of command along with the immediate past service chiefs in July 2015, the Boko Haram terrorists held sway in parts of the north-east.
“Our immediate challenge on the assumption of office was to flush out the Boko Haram and restore Nigeria’s sovereignty over these occupied territories.
“Gratefully, with the support of the political leadership, particularly Mr President, Commander-in-Chief, and indeed all Nigerians, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, under my leadership was able to reclaimed territories that were hitherto under the control of the terrorists.
“While the security threat posed by the Boko Haram is still being contained, the Armed Forces of Nigeria have, in the past five years, continued to develop capacities to contain insurgency and other asymmetric threats to our nation,” he said.
Olonisakin also disclosed the military under his leadership had been transformed from being inexperienced in asymmetric warfare to building enormous capacity.
