By Philip Nwosu and Nkiru Odinkemelu
All over the formations of the Nigerian Army, it was undiluted fun and merriment recently as all units of the service commemorated the Army’s annual end-of-the-year celebration, commonly called WASA.
WASA is an acronym for West African Social Activities, an age-long tradition of the Nigerian Army. It is an event that brings all its personnel, including their families and friends, together to mark the end of the year in a jovial atmosphere.
From the 81 Division of the service to the Directorate of Chaplain Services, Nigerian Army (Protestants) and the Army Finance Corps, all units of the organisation within the country were excited at the celebration of 2017 WASA, the first after a five-year hiatus.
Since 2012, at the peak of the Boko Haram crisis, the Nigerian Army had halted the celebration, explaining that troops could not be celebrating while the country was under attack by insurgents.
However, for prosecuting the war against the Boko Haram insurgents and ensuring the fall of the dreaded Sambisa Forest, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, directed a resuscitation of WASA.
As part of the celebrations, various Army formations in Lagos have been organising the event, bringing troops together to felicitate with one another.
At the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Maj. Gen. Ebenezer Oyefolu, led troops to dance to tunes from different cultural troupes brought to perform at the parade ground at Dodan Barracks, Lagos.
Oyefolu, before kicking off the ceremony, commended the efforts of the military, particularly the foot soldiers, in the past year. He urged them to work in line with the vision of the Chief of Army Staff, to have a professional, responsive Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.
On his part, Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Training and Operations, Maj. Gen. David Ahmadu, noted that the security challenges confronting Nigeria had made it unrealistic for the Army to hold WASA.
According to the Army chief, WASA remained a rich, age-long tradition of the military to round off activities for the year and usher in a new year. The event was introduced during the colonial era in the then West African Frontier Force to relieve the soldiers’ routine regimental life of the usual stress and help them unwind and relax with colleagues and civilians alike. The Nigerian Army has since adopted the tradition.
At the parade ground of the Nigerian Army Finance in Apapa, the story was the same, as the soldiers and their families arrived the area for their WASA celebration at the Army Finance Corps. Many of them came ahead of schedule. The women and children were even more excited, as they discussed some of the events, including the anticipated tug of war between the soldiers’ wives and female soldiers.
The event commenced with a welcome address by the Acting Chief of Accounts and Budget, Brig-Gen. Jehadi Jako.
The performances by various cultural groups representing the diverse nature of the military were the high point of the day. The Tiv cultural troupe performed the popular Swange dance, followed by a short drama by the National Troupe.
At the Army Finance Corps, Lt. Gen. Buratai was represented by the GOC, 81 Division. He explained the significance of WASA, stating that it was to mark the revival of activities hitherto suspended by the military. He said the revival would go a long way in curbing criminality and other nefarious activities.
Buratai said: “WASA is among the rich traditions of the Nigerian Army, which promote team spirit, esprit de corps and confidence within and outside the barracks community. It is also a forum for informal social interaction and an avenue for the barracks community to showcase the various rich and diversified cultural endowments of our great nation. This significant regimental activity is held annually to signify the successful completion of activities for the year and usher in a new year.
“The 2016 training year has been quite eventful in the Nigerian Army. All the training activities programmed for the year were successfully conducted as scheduled, and, in addition, some important activities that were hitherto suspended due to commitment of troops in various internal and external operations were revived in 2016. Such activities include the Nigerian Army Sports Festival, which was held last year after a break of seven years, various field training exercises such as Python Dance, Crocodile Smile and others were also successfully conducted last year in various parts of the country. These exercises have significantly gone a long way in curbing criminality and other nefarious activities. The climax of these exercises was Operation Rescue Final in the North-East, which led to the fall of Sambisa Forest at the end of 2016.
“Therefore, we all have reasons to celebrate and also thank Almighty God for these great achievements in year 2016.”
He prayed for the repose of the souls of fallen heroes who paid the supreme price to keep the country safe and one, even as he asked God to grant the victims’ families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. He also urged officers and soldiers to remain committed to the discharge of their collective responsibilities of ensuring peace and stability across the country.
“We must remain focused, dedicated and resilient in order to consolidate on the achievements so far recorded,” he said.
Earlier, Oyefolu had noted that: “The word WASA, in the ordinary usage of the Hausa language, simply means to play, and that is what we are here to do today. It coincides with the acronym of what is being held as the West African Social Activities (WASA) by the Nigerian Army.
“This event was introduced during the colonial era. It was meant to take officers and soldiers away from their routine regimental life to an atmosphere where they could wine and relax freely with one another as well as their civilian brothers and sisters. Today gives us another opportunity to be together with our families and friends and give thanks to the Almighty for a successful 2016 and to showcase our various cultures within the barracks and the community.”
The Magajiya (wives of Army officers) group defeated the female soldiers in the tug of war, while awards of excellence were given to outstanding officers for their accomplishments in the year 2016.