Philip Nwosu
The Nigerian Navy said the provision of welfare packages to troops is the only way to win the confidence of personnel and ensure they win battles.
The outgoing Commander Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft, Rear Admiral Okon Eyo, made the assertion while commissioning some of the projects constructed by the base, which was meant to enhance troops welfare within naval facilities in Lagos.
Eyo said that numbers do not win wars, but an army that goes into battle with a stronger soul cannot be defeated by the enemy. “Strong soul in modern times is equivalent to high personnel motivation,” he emphasized.
The outgoing officers said that availability of the tools of military trade, conducive working environment, adequate and robust social services, especially in terms of medical and education services, are major ingredients.
He lamented that the NNS BEECROFT, which is equivalent to a brigade in the Nigerian Army had no functional band, adding that “its expanse was in the main replete with worn out looking colonial structure, badly in need of dressing with the waterfront severely restricted by widespread wrecks.”
Eyo, who had been battling the blockades on Lagos roads mounted by articulated vehicles, said within one year of its stay as the commander of the NNS BEECROFT, he has commissioned no fewer than 50 projects which will address personnel welfare needs of its personnel.
His words: “Over 50 projects were undertaken and completed in the course of 12 months of the command’s tenure, giving an average of over one project per week.”
He urged the personnel to ensure the maintenance of the projects being commission, noting that “the minimum expectation is that you would care for them as your own property, to allow for the realization of the value from the enormous resources committed to their set up.”