Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin ), former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), on Friday called on the military to leave governance to the politicians and not to interfere with the democratic process.
Petinrin gave the advice at the Pulling out Parade to mark his retirement from the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“For my serving colleagues, I leave you with these words from General Douglas: `Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government.
`Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant;
`By morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent, whether our personal liberties are as thorough and complete as they should be;
`Yours is a profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the nation will be destroyed, the very obsession of your public service must be duty, honour, country.’
“My colleagues, I therefore urge you to leave governance to the politicians,’’ he said.
The former CDS said there was no doubt that the armed forces were still facing a host of serious challenges.
He named some of the challenges as absence of an informed forum for the selection, acquisition and introduction into service of those national security capabilities required for the challenges facing the nation.
He said arising from the challenges were issues regarding making provision for appropriate and adequate capabilities for the number of tasks the government had given to the military and inadequacies in the number and state of barracks accommodation for personnel.
“I sincerely hope that these and other challenges would be overcome in the not too distant future.
“I do not see this ceremony as an honour to me. Rather, I see my family and I as the ones who owe you all a debt of gratitude and any honour that may be due.
“I also want to say a big thank you to the countless individuals who made my over 38 years, in the service of my country, so wonderful, so rewarding and so memorable for me and my family,’’ he added.
The Chief of Defence Staff of Ghana, Lt.- Gen Peter Bley, described Petinrin as a nice gentleman, who was very cooperative and understanding and someone, who held the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) very strongly.
Bley said during his tenure as the Chairman of ECOWAS CCDS, Petinrin? displayed his maturity and diplomacy whenever there was a serious decision to be taken.
He said Petinrin had a knack for leadership and was always ready to step into any difficult situation.
Rear Adm Francis Akpan, his course mate of the 16 Regular course, said Petinrin was a very sound officer professionally and wished him the best in retirement.
He said that the country would still find good use for the likes of Petinrin, who still had a lot to offer.
Petinrin was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force as a pilot on Jan. 3, 1977 after completing his basic military training course as a member of the Regular Course 16 of Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
He was appointed the Chief of Air Staff on Aug. 20, 2008 and later appointed the Chief of Defence Staff in Sept. 2010, a position he held till his retirement from service on Oct. 4.