A security expert, Mr Ona Ekhomu has said that the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru who was killed in an air mishap in Kaduna on May 21 along with 10 other persons employed a productive and congruent leadership style in motivating Nigerian troops in the war against insurgency in the Northeast.
Ekhomi said that the military chief relied upon expectancy theory and self-fulfilling prophecies (Pygmalion effect) when he charged the troops and this was responsible for the recent successes of the military against Boko Haram/ISWAP.
Ekhomu, said that the COAS used to pay frequent visits to the frontlines where he would directly address the troops. “An example was when the COAS ordered his men to recapture Marte within 48 hours and it was done in less time. That was clearly a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
He expressed condolences to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor and the entire armed forces of Nigeria (AFN) on the tragic loss of the COAS and others in the air mishap, saying that “the plane crash robbed the nation of a great leadership asset in the war against insurgency at a time that the threat is mutating and assuming a terrible dimension.”
He described Gen. Attahiru as a great hero who fought hard to ensure peace and security in Nigeria. He said that in the short time that Attahiru served as the Chief of Army Staff, there was a rejuvenation of the spirit of the Nigerian Army.