Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
The Nigerian Army are presently holding a round table meting on military-civil relations following increasing internal security challenges in some parts of the country.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai while declaring open the three days Military Coordination Roundtable at Army Command Guest House, Maiduguri, Borno State said the Nigerian Army was tasked with internal securtiy operation in aid to civil authority apart from its traditional role of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation.
Buratai who was represented by the Chief of Trainning and Operations, Army Headquarters, Maj.Gen David Amodu said there was a shift in conflict from inter state to intra state across the world. He maintained that Nigeria was not left out of this shift as many states are currently experiencing various crises and violent clashes.
“The Nigerian Army is at present engaged in a number of military operations other than war in several theatres across the country,” he said. He said the military has continued to collaborate with civil society organisations as part of its method of responding to th emerging security challenges in the country
“The Nigerian Army has continued to collaborate with civil society organisations to effectively enlist the support of the local and international populace, ” he disclosed in his opening address.
He said participants at the roundtable were drawn from all army formations in the country to
“brainstorm on the way forward in enhancing civil-military relations skills and capacity of The Nigerian Army officers.”  Other participants include military officers from United Kingdom and USA.
Representative of the United Kingdom Army, Lt.Col Alex Michael said the challenge of responding to humanitarian crisis in a theatre of operation and simultenously responding to conflict while equally dealing with a range of actors in crisis situation were issues that should elicit discourse at the roundtable.
He said effective coordination between military and humanitarian organisations would help in ensuring delivery of life-saving assistance to those affected by crisis or violence. He said they were participating in the roundtable to share international practise and how this practise applies to the crisis management in northeast Nigeria and other parts of the country where the military is currently  engaged in various ooerations.