The Service Chiefs on Monday met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.
At the meeting were: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai; Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe-Ibas and the Inspector-General (IG) Mohammed Adamu.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno was not at the meeting.
The Service chiefs passed by the Office of the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari on their way out of the State House after meeting with Buhari.
It was learnt that yesterday’s meeting, which could have passed for any of the weekly security meetings with his Service chiefs, was tagged a “special consultation”.
The meeting was held 24 hours after the President promised aggressive action against the Boko Haram insurgents.
Speaking at another forum, CDS Olonisakin charged officers and men of the security forces to drop unnecessary ego and rivalry. He urged them to work together to secure the country.
Gen. Olonisakin stated that synergy and effective collaboration between the various outfits has become is impeative to succeed in the discharge of the onerous task of winning the anti-terror and counter-insurgency way.
The CDS gave the charge at the maiden Joint Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency (CTCOIN) Seminar for students of Senior Course 42 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State.
Speaking as the guest of honour, he described the seminar theme: “Enhancing Jointness in CTCOIN Operations through Collaboration” as apt and timely considering the enormous roles currently being played by the Armed Forces and other security agencies in confronting the various security challenges bedevilling our dear nation.
He said: “There is no doubt that our security forces require synergy and efective collaboration to succeed in the discharge of the onerous task of securing the nation.
“The required synergy transcends beyond the three services of the armed forces to the paramilitary and even NGOs and other stakeholders in our various theatre of operation.
“This synergy is essential and vital to achieving our common objective of securing Nigeria. It will also help in formulating policies and assist the armed forces in its operations.”
Addressing the students who are in the rank of Major and its equivalence, the CDS said: “as future field commanders, it is essential for them to recognise the need for effective synergy among all stakeholders.
“Therefore, you must all display maturity and jettison all the hindrances to synergy and cooperation, such as ego and rivalry.
“I understand that, before now, the seminar was organised at the academic departmental level. In the wisdom of the leadership of the College and in tandem with the realities of contemporary security challenges in the country, the need to have a joint seminar was conceptualised.
“It is believed that with this coming together, shared- experiences and cross-fertilisation of ideas would be enhanced. Let me therefore commend the Commandant and his management team for this initiative that is aimed at enhancing jointness among the Armed Forces and other security agencies as demanded by current realities. What we have today is the product of long period of planning and deliberations.
“Most importantly, the theme of the seminar is also directly linked to the objective of the Senior Course as well as the thinking of the strategic leaders of the country.”

By Bolaji Ogundele