From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Chief Of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, has again reiterated his determination to restore the lost glory of Regimented Sergeant Majors (RSM), who are the original custodians of the Nigerian Army customs, ethics and traditions.
Gen Yahaya, stated this when he commissioned the newly constructed official residence of the Regimented Sergeant Major for Army Headquarters Garrison in Abuja.
The Army chief while noting that the construction of the building was aimed at restoring the prestige associated with the office of an RSM, said RSMs in the Nigerian Army and the military globally, play pivotal role in refining, grooming, and putting the regimental lives of young officers and soldiers in check especially when freshly deployed to the units and formations on passing out from their respective training institutions.
General Yahaya said it has become necessary to provide RSMs with the requisite logistics to enhance their confidence and competence to reinvigorate and empower them play their essential role as a bridge between the Commanders and the soldiers in the hierachy of the Nigerian Army.
He promised to ensure the construction of tied-down accommodation for the RSMs and renovate existing dilapidated structures in Army Barracks to demonstrate his commitment in this regard.
Earlier in his address, the Commander Army Headquarters Garrison, Major General Kabir Garba, who commended the COAS, for the restoring the lost glory of the RSM, said the drive would spur them to work harder to maintain the regimentation in the Nigerian Army.
In his vote of thanks the RSM, Mohammed Sani, who said he was one of the first beneficiaries to be handed an official vehicle by the COAS, thanked the COAS, for his determination to ensure the welfare of troops and expressed the hope that the legacy he has laid would be built upon.