The chief of army staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, has tasked Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSM) to positively influence soldiers by inculcating the right values and ethics in them.

Mr Lagbaja further urged the RSMs to lead by example by demonstrating uncompromising and unwavering leadership.

He gave the charge at Tuesday’s opening of the first Biannual RSMs Convention 2024, hosted by 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna.

He stressed that being a well-trained and highly motivated soldier requires exhibiting the highest level of professionalism.

Mr Lagbaja, however, said that from the Nigerian Army’s perspective, being a professional soldier implies embodying the service’s traditions, customs, ethics, and emerging warrior ethos.

He said the army cannot expect soldiers to adhere to ethical standards and traditional patterns when their leaders and mentors are either not up to speed with or upholding the same standards.

The COAS said the RSMs were critical stakeholders in the Nigerian Army’s administrative and command arrangement.

He said, ”Referring to them as fathers’ units was not because of their age, but their knowledge borne out of years of training experience gathered along the path to their current status. They are the mouthpieces for the
younger ones on both professional, personal, and family welfare issues.

”They are expected to be repositories of wisdom and professional knowledge, which is why commanders look up to them for advice on nearly all issues related to soldiers within their units or formations.”

Mr Lagbaja, therefore, said it was in acknowledgement of the critical roles played by the RSMs that the Army Headquarters deemed it necessary to sustain the hosting of the convention on a biannual basis to focus on selected themes.

The army chief said the trio of traditions, customs, and ethics were critical to military administration. According to him, they combine significantly to influence discipline, operational efficiency, and the effectiveness of a force.

Mr Lagbaja said it was to this end that he made sound administration as one of the three beams of his command philosophy.

(NAN)