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The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (rtd), has proposed that every Nigerian citizen should undergo military training.
Musa made the call while speaking on the African Leadership Podcast with Ken Giami, stating that the experience of hunger, exhaustion and physical strain that comes with military training gives people a perspective on life they cannot get anywhere else.
According to him, the experience would give Nigerians a different perspective about life and the responsibilities associated with protecting the country, and would help citizens understand endurance, discipline and the sacrifices made by members of the Armed Forces.
Every Nigerian should be able to go through military training. I can tell you for free, it will give you a different perspective about life. You will now understand what it means to stay hungry, what it means to walk in days without sleep, the minister said.
It will show you what endurance means, when you walk kilometres and you are tired but you still need to keep on going. You have not eaten, you have not taken one because of the nature of the thing and because you are doing it to protect.
The former Chief of Defence Staff noted that citizens who go through such training would understand what it means to continue moving even when physically exhausted, hungry or deprived of normal comfort. He linked the sacrifice to the biblical principle that there is no greater love than he who will lay down his life for his friends.
Musa said that is exactly what military personnel do daily, putting their lives at stake for the country. He said it is painful when people insult the military without appreciating the conditions under which troops operate, noting that soldiers are also fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who leave their families behind while serving in difficult environments.
