The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, CFR has charged the Nation’s Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) not to relent in upholding discipline and professionalism of the Nigerian Army being the custodians of discipline.

The Chief of Staff who was represented by the Army Director of Administration, Defense,Research and Development Bureau, Maj. Gen. Uwem Basey made this known at the 4-day first Regimental Sergeant Majors’ (RSMs) Convention 2023 holding at Gowon Hall, Crispan Jos, Plateau State with the theme “the role of RSMs in upholding the tenets of professionalism in the social media era”.
According to him, the overall objective of the workshop is to equip and sensitize the Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) on how effectively they can use the social media in line with the existing policy guidelines in that regards and stepping down same to their various divisions and formations as the case may be.
“In this era of social media, the sole aim of this training is to enable the RSMs who are the custodians of discipline to be able to monitor the discipline of our soldiers in their activities in the social media, to avoid departure from the Army’s policy.
Let me at this juncture reiterate that as RSMs, it is your responsibility to ensure that the cherished traditions, customs and ethics of the Nigerian Army are continuously upheld. These are huge responsibilities that must be taken seriously. It therefore requires that you all must be up to date on these responsibilities especially with the increasing involvement of troops in social media activities and its attendant consequences on internal security, counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations in various theatres within the Country” he said.
He urged the participants who are drawn across the Nation to put the lessons to be learnt into good use to achieve the objectives of training.

Earlier the Host, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division Rukuba Jos Plateau who doubles as the Commander Operation Safe Haven, Maj. Gen. Abdulsalami Ibrahim in his welcome address lauded the Army Headquarters Department of Army Administration for putting up such timely and vital training aimed at equipping Regimental Sergeant Majors with the requisite knowledge towards sustaining professionalism in a joint environment as military personnel as well as to address the challenges posed by the indiscriminate use of social media.
He also hinted that the workshop will further build the personal capacities of the Participants for optimal performance.

“I am delighted to stand before you today to be part of this historic event designed to improve the level of discipline, professionalism and regimentation in the NA. There cannot be a better time to host this convention for our troops than now. This is because of my conviction that discipline, loyalty, obedience, professionalism and regimentation amongst others are the key to successful military operations. These qualities are among the heartbeats of the COAS towards the actualization of his vision of having “A Professional Nigerian Army Ready to Accomplish Assigned Mission within a Joint Environment in Defence of Nigeria” he said.
He frowned at the indiscriminate use and posting of military intentions, activities and operations on social media by some some personnel of the Nigeria Army which he disclosed poses serious concerns for operation security and therefore needs to be adequately addressed.
“I therefore want to charge the participants to be opened to contribute, ask questions, learn and enrich your knowledge on the professional use of social media as professional military personnel. Accordingly, the Convention is designed to enhance the leadership abilities, operational efficiency and overall capacity of RSMs” he hinted.

The Chief of Administration (Army), Maj. Gen. OW Ali who was represented by the Director Personnel Services Army Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Jimmy Akpor said it is important that RSMs are constantly trained, updated and sensitized about new trends, policies and plans of the Nigerian Army so that they can domesticate same to their formations and units.
He disclosed that the Nigerian Army relies on the RSMs to ensure that the highest standard of regimentation is maintained by all personnel urging them to pay rapt attention to all the proceedings at the convention.

“The theme of this convention as you are all aware centres on social media and how it impact on the Nigerian Army. We expect to see great improvement in how soldiers use the social media after this convention.
It is your duty therefore to ensure that the takeaways from this convention are internalized and practiced by all Soldiers of the Nigerian Army” he hinted.

There would be paper presentations on diverse topics by resourced persons and interactive sessions throughout the period of the convention. The convention which commenced today Monday 8th May, 2023 is expected to end on Friday 12th May, 2023.

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Army Chief, Lt. Gen. Faruk Charges Nigerian RSMs to Uphold Discipline and Professionalism