BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO<\/p>\n
In his book \u201cPolitical communication: Rhetoric, Government and
\nCitizens,\u201d Dan F. Hahn said something that is very fascinating and
\ndirectly relates to the thematic issues that informed the writing of
\nthis brief reflection which is a look at what the Nigerian military
\nneeds most at these times of intense counter terror battles in the
\nNorth East of Nigeria.<\/p>\n
The author aforementioned, spoke about what he called \u201cFunctions of
\ndefinitions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting through the whole gamut of what he presented as the
\nfunctions of definitions, this writer progressively interrogated the
\ngroundswell of perceptions, misperceptiobs and misinterpretations in
\nthe public space of Nigeria with specific reference to how people
\nevaluate the performances of the service chiefs who are directly
\nleading the counter terror war. There’s no gainsaying the fact that
\nmost Nigerians are genuinely worried that the war on terror has lasted
\nfor too long. However, those who are calling for the heads of the
\nservice chiefs have forgotten that the war on terror began very long
\nbefore their appointments were effectuated by President Muhammadu
\nBuhari who has consistently withstood an avalanche or indeed a tsunami
\nof pressures to sack his service chiefs but has rather passed a vote
\nof confidence on these war time Generals.<\/p>\n
This is how the author under reference saw the functions of
\ndefinitions:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I already have indicated, the overall function of definition is
\nto control the societal dialogue. That is, all rhetors attempt to
\ncontrol the public dialogue by persuading others to see the world as
\nthey see it \u2013 to know as they know, to value as they value. It would
\nnot seem, at first blush, that definitions could accomplish all that,
\nbut they can \u2013 and do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore specifically, definitions are like blinders on a horse: they
\nfocus attention on some aspects while blinding us to others. They
\nidentify what the societal problem is (i.e., what should be done): and
\nthat, in turn, helps identify who should act. They help to focus and
\nthereby limit debates and, if successful, even entirely eliminate the
\nneed to debate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause most of us, most of the time, prefer to believe that the
\nsocietal dialogues in which we are involved are about \u201ctruth\u201d and
\n\u201cjustice\u201d rather than merely definitions it may be helpful to take
\na historic example rather than a contemporary one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going forward, we will look at the good examples displayed by one of
\nthe best known war time generals that the world has ever known Winston
\nChurchill and then we will conclude by doing a general appreciation of
\nthe role of motivational leadership styles of the leading military
\nchief in the war on terror in Nigeria who is president Muhammadu
\nBuhari\u2019s appointed and trusted chief of Army staff lieutenant
\nGeneral Tukur Yusuf Buratai.<\/p>\n
As we seek knowledge about the place and role of the iconic British
\nbest known leader, the best reference source is the British
\nBroadcasting Corporation\u2019s website and to it we will now turn to
\ngain a bird\u2019s eye view of the historicity of this distinguished war
\ntime motivational leader and then we will establish a nexus between
\nhis examples and what kind of motivational role the Nigerian Army
\nchief is playing.<\/p>\n
Churchill is one of the most famous Britons of the 20th Century, so
\nechoes the British publicly funded Broadcasting behemoth reputed to ve
\none of the best nedia institutions globally.<\/p>\n
BBC says Winston Churchill is one of the most famous Britons of the
\n20th Century and led the country during the Second World War.<\/p>\n
He’s a hero to many and his speeches are some of the most famous in
\nhistory – there’s even a statue of him outside Parliament.<\/p>\n
He’s credited as being one of the driving forces that inspired the UK
\nto keep fighting against Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n
But he also suffered with health problems and was a complicated person
\nwho said and did things that many people today don’t like.<\/p>\n
Winston Churchill was born in 1874. He became a Member of Parliament
\n(MP) in 1900.<\/p>\n
He was British prime minister from 1940-1945 and again between 1951
\nand 1955.<\/p>\n
Churchill is best remembered for successfully leading Britain through
\nWorld War Two.<\/p>\n
He was famous for his inspiring speeches, and for his refusal to give
\nin, even when things were going badly.<\/p>\n
Many people consider him the greatest Briton of all time and he’s
\nalmost certainly the most famous British prime minister.<\/p>\n
Before World War Two started in 1939, he had warned about the rise of
\nHitler and the Nazis in Germany.<\/p>\n
He became British prime minister in 1940 after then-leader Neville
\nChamberlain resigned.<\/p>\n
Churchill’s refusal to surrender to Nazi Germany inspired the country.<\/p>\n
Churchill lost power after World War Two ended in 1945.<\/p>\n
But he became prime minister again in 1951, before resigning four
\nyears later. My readers will see that the greatest of Great Britain
\ncame about by the kind of iconic leadership qualities of persons such
\nas Winston Churchill. Such great leaders are also found in Nigeria.
\nAlso there is a nexus between the resilience of this British Icon with
\nthe motivational skills of Nigeria’s current Army Chief Lieutenant
\nGeneral Tukur Yusuf Buratai who was discovered by President Muhammadu
\nBuhari on assumption of office as elected civilian President.
\nNigeria’s topsy turvy war on terror has thrown up the need for
\ncritical philosophers to analyse the place of motivational skills to
\nthe eventual victory of Nigeria over our adversarial armed rebels and
\nTERROR suspects aligned with global jihadists movements of Islamic
\nstate.<\/p>\n
I think the current terrorists attacks are as tragic and satanic as
\nthe attacks by the Nazis and the ambitions by Adolph Hitler to annex
\nthe whole of Europe, to become a world\u2019s superman and to annihilate
\nthe Jews. These evil aspirations were clinically defeated by the
\nallied forces.<\/p>\n
The boko haram terrorists have not hidden their disdain for peace,
\nterritorial tranquility and social justice and have made their
\nintention known to wipe out Christians and moderate Moslems.<\/p>\n
The terrorists have made lots of incursions into some territories of
\nNigeria but the brave Nigerian soldiers commanded by a brave general
\nin the same persona as Winston Churchill, has made phenomenal efforts
\nto ensure that Nigeria does not fall into the hands of terrorists. We
\nmust commend our fighters even as we need to canvass for better
\nfighting weapons and technical support from the global leaders to end
\nthis huge war.<\/p>\n
General Buratai and his other fellow service chiefs have come under
\nintense scrutiny.<\/p>\n
These criticisms have come at a time that the terrorists have managed
\nto strike at soft targets such as publicly executing hostages most of
\nwhom were abducted either on their ways to assist the internally
\ndisplaced war victims or on their way to the university of Maiduguri.
\nEven a very young female student of university of Maiduguri who is
\nfrom Plateau state is still a hostage.<\/p>\n
Leah Sharibu from Yobe State a Christian, who was captured when she
\nwas just 14 together with her other Moslem classmates, was held back
\neven when others were freed and she has so far spent two years in
\ncaptivity of boko haram terrorists.<\/p>\n
These bloodsheds have come with the backlash of calls from some
\nquarters that the service chiefs should be dismissed. The Army chief
\nin the face of these challenges continues to show examples of a
\nmotivational leader.<\/p>\n
Indeed, apart from better combat weapons, one vital commodity the
\ncombatants also need so as to successfully decimate the terrorists, is
\nmotivation and encouragement.<\/p>\n
Nigerians must show solidarity with the leadership of the military and
\nshould stop the unnecessary bickering because these service chiefs
\nappointed and trusted by the commander-in-chief, are doing all that
\nthey can to win the war on terror in good time.<\/p>\n
They (service chiefs) are not war merchants because they have nothing
\nto gain by destroying their nation- a Country that has given them the
\nbest things of life that most people are dreaming to have- good paying
\njobs and the finest academic scholarships that money can buy. They are
\npatriots. They have attained the pinnacles of their chosen profession
\nwith one of them becoming a full fledged military General- thus
\nbecoming the only second person alive or dead wearing such a
\nprestigious and meritorious rank in a nation of over 200 million
\npeople. Even if someone is a diehard critic, is there no room for
\nobjectivity?<\/p>\n
The Army chief lieutenant general Tukur Yusuf Buratai is a leader who
\nwe have seen and heard directly from the theatre of counter terror
\nwar. He is not the type that will be ensconced in his Abuja heavily
\nair conditioned and highly maintained office in the upscale area of
\nAbuja- the most beautiful city in Africa.<\/p>\n
He has been seen even serving Salah and Christmas foods to combatants
\nin the battle fields.<\/p>\n
He (Burayai) is often seen visiting his fighters to shower praises on
\nthem, to instill discipline where necessary and to inject a massive
\ndose of motivational speeches and actions including awarding
\npromotions to deserving combatants. Buratai and his appointing
\nauthority have visited wounded soldiers in hospitals to emphatize with
\nthem. How many of us shouting ‘crucify them’ has visited our wounded
\nsoldiers in the hospitals?<\/p>\n
He General Tukur Yusuf Buratai recently took this motivational
\nleadership style to a whole new level by authoring personalized letter
\nto the fighters to motivate them and pray for greater commitments and
\nzeal to finish the battles in very excellent way.<\/p>\n
Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, says he is confident that the
\ntroops in the north-east will end Boko Haram insurgency soon.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued by Sagir Musa, army spokesman, Buratai also
\nreminded the troops that they have done it before, and that \u201cthey
\nwill do it again without any foreign troops around\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to the statement, Buratai said this in letter to
\ncongratulate the theatre commander, sector commanders, super camps
\ncommanders, commanding officers, as well as the officers and soldiers
\nserving in Operation Lafiya Dole for their gallantry.<\/p>\n
In the letter, the army chief hailed the troops and their commanders
\nfor the display of courage and patriotism that led to the decimation
\nof the leadership and ranks of Boko Haram insurgents and their
\naffiliate ISWAP in various parts of the theatre.<\/p>\n
He asked them to continue to dominate the theatre and maintain high
\nstandards of professionalism.<\/p>\n
He also asked them never to allow the insurgents any breathing space
\nor freedom of action anywhere as they continue to discharge their
\nlegitimate duties.<\/p>\n
Buratai said he has foreseen that with the renewed zeal, it is just
\nmatter of days to end the menace of Boko Haram insurgents.<\/p>\n
He said his confidence in total victory has further been rekindled by
\nthe determination of the troops on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am more confident now than ever before with your current robust
\nposture that you will end the BHT\/ISWAP menace in no distance time,\u201d
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Dear compatriots, the greatest act of patriotism at this time is to
\nsupport the military to win the war on terror and not to keep
\ncriticizing the service chiefs.<\/p>\n
*Emmanuel Onwubiko is the Head of the Human Rights Writers Association
\nof Nigeria and blogs@www.huriwanigeria.com; www.emmanuelonwubikocom;
\nwww.thenigerianinsidernews.com [1]; www.huriwa@blospot.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO In his book \u201cPolitical communication: Rhetoric, Government and Citizens,\u201d Dan F. Hahn said something that is very fascinating and directly relates to the thematic issues that informed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":71887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n