Abuja — Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike has said Nigeria is the worst hit of previous premature retirement of officers and soldiers and their plight in recent times have become a source of worry to the federal government.

Speaking at this year's Ministerial Press Briefing, Dike said there is no reason why someone who has served his/her country for over 30 years with unblemished records should not be treated well by her nation hence the decision to set up a committee whose report would be submitted to the federal government for consideration.

"The world is changing. Nations are re-aligning. There was new economic order. The Nigerian military therefore cannot sit and watch things go by and that is why we have decided to begin a process of transformation for the Nigerian military.

"Exactly a year ago we had an opportunity to discuss on the best course of action at Jaji. Many of us might be wondering what has happened to that report. It has been reviewed over and over again, and I am pleased to say the final report has been submitted to the Ministry of Defence and I am hopeful that by this time next year during a similar event, the ministry will be in a position to tell us what next as regards transformation".

On the issue of harmonized terms and conditions of Service, Dike said, "we did recognise at the DHQ there is a need for us to make a lot of changes."

We have seen officers, soldiers being retired prematurely so to say, which serves no economic benefit to the nation. We have looked at the plight of our retired colleagues and we feel extremely terrible and we felt that this got to stop. It was in consequence of this that we set up a committee to review the terms and conditions of service not just for officers but for soldiers, ratings and airmen.

"We feel strongly that someone who serves and who has the privilege of serving in the Nigerian military for over 30 years with unblemished record deserves better. It is our hope that when the government has given final consideration to our submission, most of the problems or anomalies dictated by this committee would have been resolved".

On peace support operations, the Dike said Nigeria was the fourth contributing nation to peace effort the world over, with about four battalions in Darfur, about two in Liberia, with military observers in Nepal, Western Sahara, Cote d' Ivoire, Congo among others. "What do we gain by this, first it improves our level of professionalism, it keeps the military busy and in a way get some financial benefits for the government itself. Because of the excellent performance of Nigerian contingent the world over, there have been many requests for Nigeria to make additional contribution. But we must realize that we need to balance the requirement of the military back home with the request outside, so that one does not suffer for the other.

"Our mandate and responsibility for the armed forces is to help keep peace, maintain peace and security and we do recognize that in the present trend and modern war far, no service can go it alone. In other words, I do not expect the army to fight a war alone neither will we expect the Navy to do it alone, in other words is a joint effort. And that is why we have decided to reintroduced combined or joint operations involving the three services like the one we had in March this year tagged exercise "Ologun Mata" in Ondo State.

The essence was to practice and test the planning and execution of tri-service jointness and inter-operability of equipment of equipment, combat readiness and the level of readiness in the field. The result I need say was quiet encouraging and we need to do it every two years," he said.

Speaking on welfare, Dike said there is no amount spent on equipment if the individuals operating the machine are ignored the war will be lost.

"We can get the best aircraft, best warship but if we forget the individual that operate this machine we are not going to win anything. And that is why we give so much credence to the welfare of our troops. We expect that within the next couple of months, all our troops would have been better kitted. Consignments have already arrived and more are arriving where all our troops will be fully kitted", he said.

"Accommodation is also what we are looking at very seriously and I do know the various services are doing same. The DHQ will be commissioning the second batch of accommodation sometime next week.

"I have visited all our troops in Darfur, Niger Delta and Liberia and the essence is to remain them that we are appreciative of what we are doing and to boost their morale and most importantly to look at their deficiencies and see where we can come in to make remedies. I am pleased with what I have seen so far.

"We do organize welfare flight to these areas once a month with plans to increase it to two so that they can exchange letters with their families and so that those on break can take that opportunity to come back home.

"How far have we gone? I'll say the road is still far and rough but there is light at the end of the tunnel", he said.