• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
  • E-Book
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
  • E-Book
Home Features GENERAL LEO IRABOR: The Man for the Job
  • Features

GENERAL LEO IRABOR: The Man for the Job

By
Gondo L. Gondo
-
January 23, 2023
CDS Gen Lucky Irabor
CDS Gen Lucky Irabor

GENERAL LEO IRABOR: The Man for the Job

By Gondo L. Gondo

Napoleon Bonaparte, a former French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution, once said, “Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene, and Fredrick. This is the only way to become a great general and master the secrets of the art of war.”

General Leo Irabor, like the great men mentioned above, is a true war commander and defender. He has been a guiding light in the darkness that has since enveloped the Nigerian space when insecurity reigned supreme. By his commitment to ending the ravaging scourge of Boko Haram and other security threats, General Irabor has demonstrated to this generation that there can be a positive metamorphosis from gloomy days to glorious days. He has proven that the President Buhari-led administration made the right decision in bringing him on board as the Chief of Defence Staff up to this point. Have you seen, in this generation, a man who is so principled? Have you seen in this country a man who can take the bull by the horns to emancipate the people from the clutches of apprehension and insurgency?

 General Irabor is that man for the job. This is one man who has distinguished himself by believing that change does not arrive on the wheels of inevitability but rather through constant struggle. Even the blind can see that he has rid the military of almost the bag eggs that have aided and abated insecurity while also restoring staff discipline through synergy and promotion of inter-agency cooperation amongst the armed forces and the Nigeria Police force. Indeed, he deserves a standing ovation.

The Delta State-born general gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna as a member of the 34 Regular Course in 1983 and was commissioned a second lieutenant on June 28, 1986, into the Signal Corps of the Nigerian Army. In his quest to grow and explore knowledge like the great philosophers of old, he attended military and civil courses within and outside the country. He attended the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji for his junior staff course in 1995, and the Ghana Armed Forces Staff College, Teshi, Accra, for the senior staff course in 2000/2001. In his quest to keep studying and distinguish himself among his equals, he attended the National Defence College in Bangladesh in 2010 and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Executive Education in the USA in 2012 and 2017.  General Lucky Irabor earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University and two master’s degrees from the University of Ghana and Bangladesh University of Professional, Dhaka.

Read Also:

  • Atiku Criticises DSS, Demands Probe of Tinubu Cabinet Following Minister’s Resignation
  • Tinubu: Shuttle Diplomacy and the Power of Showing Up
  • MAAUN Public Health Students Host Seminar to Combat Drug Abuse and Preventable Diseases

Before he became the 17th Chief of Defence Staff in January 2021, he served as Theatre Commander of Operation Lafia Dole, which later became Operation Hadin Kai. I remember vividly that before his assumption of office as CDS, the country was wallowing in insecurity of great dimensions. People, especially in the North East, lost their source of livelihood; mayhem was being unleashed by the deadly religious sect, Boko Haram, and the citizens were dismayed and lost touch with peace. It was a horrifying tale. In the south-east, IPOB’s separatist movement affected lives and property negatively. But the General Irabor-led administration as the Chief of Defence Staff brought solutions to all these puzzles that beclouded the nation, which for me can’t be forgotten, even in the next generation.

President Buhari, who in his wisdom appointed him as the CDS, knew that General Irabor had all the leadership capacity and acumen to flourish in the new assignment; he knew that rot needed to be eschewed and discipline brought to the fore. This was a front-burner issue at that time. Apparently, he made no mistake handing over the mantle of leadership to him. He was aware that he was a no-nonsense man who would not take “no” for an answer. It happened exactly as the president predicted.

General Irabor, after taking the appointment, knew it was going to be a big task to crack down on the security crises that were perpetuated by Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), kidnappers, and other kinds of threats to the collective peace of the Nigerian people. So he rolled up his sleeves, engaged in critical thinking, and began to dish out his jobs in collaboration with other security chiefs and relevant stakeholders. In a matter of weeks after his appointment as the Chief of Defence Staff, he revealed his command philosophy, christened PEARL. PEARL means a Nigerian military who is Professional, Effective, Agile, Result-oriented, and Loyal to constituted authority. Obviously, this philosophy spurred the military to stand firm in the defence of the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For me, I think “PEARL” has to be written on a marble so that the generation yet to be born who are going to be soldiers in the future will always have recourse to it. I remember that, when one Nigerian soldier was interviewed, he said, “At the sight of General Lucky Irabor, our boss, there is this fire of motivation in me right now to push hard and crackdown on these elements of conflict in our nation. Nigeria belongs to all of us, and we will overcome by the grace of God.”

Is the above assertion by a soldier not enough to prove that the general is the man of the people?

Under the leadership of General Irabor, many security and intelligence services were organized. He authored gender policy for the Armed Forces and built a very healthy relationship between the Nigerian Army and other countries’ armed forces. This is spectacular. Some of those countries are the Niger Republic, Chad, etc. Through his intervention, so many abducted citizens have gained freedom from the hands of their captors. This is a significant feat.

General Irabor has spread his tentacles of decisive leadership to the oil-producing areas. His resolve to bring sanity to the Nigerian space has drastically reduced oil theft. Oil production is undoubtedly the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. What becomes of the nation’s economy if oil theft is on the increase? This is one aspect in which he has succeeded.

Last year, The Image Merchants Promotion (IMPR) Limited, publishers of PRNigeria in collaboration with The Media Today (TMT), unveiled a book, authored by Mahmud Abdulsalam, in honor of the Chief of Defence Staff, titled “General LEO Irabor: The Pearl of Defense.” The 119-page book, whose blurb was written by Senator Kashin Shetimma, a former governor of Borno State, contains 33 articles under six chapters, namely, operations, stakeholders, infrastructure, synergy, human capital, and communication. The author brilliantly chronicled the capacity, achievements, and leadership qualities of this great compatriot, General Irabor. It is indeed an intricate honeycomb that expounds the personality of the general.

Gondo writes from the United Kingdom

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • CDS General Lucky Irabor
  • Nigeria
  • Security
Previous articleNigeria is Best Global IT Talent Factory – Kashifu Tells Tech Visionaries in Germany
Next article2023 Elections: DSS, INEC Restate Commitment towards Credible Polls
Gondo L. Gondo
Gondo L. Gondo

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Tinubu: Shuttle Diplomacy and the Power of Showing Up

Nigerian Air Force new Headquarters

Badaru Hails NAF’s Vision, Commissions New Headquarters Annex in Abuja

Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr. Uche Nnaji. PHOTO: X | @chiefuchennaji

Alleged Certificate Forgery: Why Uche Nnaji Must Resign or Get Fired Immediately

How Irabor’s Book Launch Became National Security Summit as Obasanjo, Jonathan, Kukah, Sultan Spoke on Boko Haram

GWA Award Winners 2025

PHOTOS: Nigeria Customs, IMPR Bag Back-to-Back Golden World Award at IPRA 70th Anniversary

Christian Genocide and the Conspiracy against Nigeria By Femi Fani-Kayode

Customs, NCC Strengthen Alliance on Device Monitoring, Security, Public Safety

EFCC Arrests 42 Suspected Internet Fraudsters, Recovers Laptops, Phones in Yobe

General Lucky Irabor (rtd) and the DG VON Jibrin Baba Ndace and his book Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum

General Irabor @60 and the Scars that Tell Nigeria’s Story By Abdulsalam Mahmud

Professor Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi Registrar National Examinations Council

NECO’s Unexpected Renaissance By Abdullahi O Haruna Haruspice

Military Foils Terrorist Attacks, Rescues Victims, Dismantles Hideouts in Sokoto, Kebbi

ICPC

ICPC Rises to 3rd Place in Transparency Index, Records Historic Leap in Integrity Score

Recent Posts

  • Atiku Criticises DSS, Demands Probe of Tinubu Cabinet Following Minister’s Resignation
  • Tinubu: Shuttle Diplomacy and the Power of Showing Up
  • MAAUN Public Health Students Host Seminar to Combat Drug Abuse and Preventable Diseases
  • FutureMap Graduates Over 1,000 Students from STEAM Camp in Jigawa
  • Finally, Tinubu’s Embattled Minister Resigns Amid Certificate Scandal
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
Atiku Criticises DSS, Demands Probe of Tinubu Cabinet Following Minister's ResignationTinubu: Shuttle Diplomacy and the Power of Showing UpMAAUN Public Health Students Host Seminar to Combat Drug Abuse and Preventable DiseasesFutureMap Graduates Over 1,000 Students from STEAM Camp in JigawaFinally, Tinubu's Embattled Minister Resigns Amid Certificate ScandalTinubu Confers National Honour on Outgoing INEC Chairman Mahmood YakubuArmy Partners Media to Tackle Fake News, Boost National SecurityBadaru Hails NAF’s Vision, Commissions New Headquarters Annex in AbujaJUST IN: INEC Boss Prof. Yakubu Hands Over Leadership to Acting ChairTroops Repel Terrorists Attacks in Borno, Launch Rescue Operation for Abducted VillagersCAN Refutes ‘Christian Genocide’ Claims, Says Violence in Nigeria Affects All FaithsAlleged Certificate Forgery: Why Uche Nnaji Must Resign or Get Fired ImmediatelyPantami Foundation Graduates 250 Gombe Youths in Tech, EntrepreneurshipTinubu Orders NAHCON to Reduce 2026 Hajj FaresSecurity Operatives Nab Influencers Over Defamatory Campaign Against Senator Shehu Buba
X whatsapp