The Nigerian Army (NA) has  appealed  to Nigerians to see its  personnel  as family members.

The Army  emphasised that  given its commitment to serving the people, it should be seen as an institution that truly belongs to all. 

  “We are the Nigerian Army. The Nigerian people own us. There are some places you go and people look at you with awe. But that’s not what we are looking for. 

“What we want is for us to be seen by people  as members of their families. We  are not from the moon. We are from homes and communities within the Nigerian state,’’ said Maj.-Gen. Gold Chibuisi,  Army’s Chief of Civil-Military Affairs (CCMA),  Chibuisi, however,  told Defence reporters during a round table    at the weekend in Abuja  that  the public should always remember that it remained an  offence for civilians to wear military uniforms.

Stressing the importance of public perception in strengthening national unity, he advised that soldiers should not be seen as        ‘’violent enforcers.’’

The CCMA  shared a  story of  how an officer spent nine months convincing a lady to marry him due to negative perceptions of soldiers as violent people.  

He said: “I do not want another officer to go through that. It is a work in progress, but as we fine-tune the conduct of our personnel and deepen public engagement, things will keep improving.”

Addressing the controversial use of military uniforms by civilians, Chibuisi explained that the military is  opposed to  civilians wearing military     uniforms  because of its implications on national security.

“Currently, there are a lot of criminals using military uniforms to perpetrate crimes. If people keep dressing like that, how do you differentiate between a criminal and a genuine soldier,?” he asked.

The CCMA warned that anyone caught would be prosecuted, rather than subjected to extrajudicial treatment.

  President of the Defence Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria, Ismail Musa, pledged his members   commitment to responsible, accurate  and balanced reportage of security matters.