Buratai’s 3-D Leadership of a Modern Army

By Aaron E Audu

“A leader is a dealer in hope.” -Napoleon

Indeed, the Nigerian Army has experienced a rapid transformation in recent times due to the leadership style of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. This is on the heels that paramount to the success of any army, there must be leaders who not only make life and death decisions but directly control the climate and quality of life of their subordinate.

This is the story of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai who since assumption of office indeed set lofty standards worthy of emulation to all that are saddled with the position of leadership in the country.

Today, the story of the rapid transformation of the Nigerian Army under his watch has sent tongues wagging. But for good reasons. There are abound numerous initiatives that buttress this fact. How he has managed to inject life into the Nigerian Army remains a mystery to a large segment of the Nigerian society, but for some of us conversant with military operations are not surprised with his noble exploits.

As a start, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai is a military historian as well as an infantry general whose records in the Nigerian Army are replete with tales of dedication, commitment and an infectious loyalty to the country. In the real sense, these traits do run in the blood given the fact that he is an offspring of a world war II veteran.

Aside from that, those in the know of the exploits of the Chief of Army staff right from his days as a young officer would readily tell of a man with an infectious personality that charges all around him to always put in their best wherever they find themselves. So little wonder that within a record period at the helms of affairs of the Nigerian Army he indeed turned around the fortunes of the Nigerian Army.

I recall a conference I once attended on military strategies. One of the issues highlighted was how leaders inspire their troops. Leaders are meant to lead by example, and leaders inspire their soldiers to perform deeds of heroism and sacrifice, which often requires suppression of natural feelings such as fear. Leaders do not encourage their soldiers by saying, onward, but rather, follow me.

My take away from that conference as it relates to the Nigerian Army was that Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai’s leadership style has been “following me” rather than “onward.” And this can be explained under four sub-themes, and they are in the areas of human rights compliance, honesty, and accountability, discipline and reward system, innovation and researches.

As strange as they sound, these are indeed components of modern-day armies anywhere in the world. The Nigerian Army under Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai has exhibited a high level of human rights compliance with the establishment of a directorate for Civil-Military Affairs that is charged with the responsibility of ensuring a seamless interaction between the military and the civilian population towards building a long-lasting collaboration.

This novel initiative has indeed bridged the gap hitherto experienced between the Nigerian Army and the civilian population. And this much accounts for some of the exploits of the Nigerian Army in recent times. The Nigerian Army has paid a high price in the fight against terrorism by prosecuting the war within the rules of engagement in conformity with the best international practices.

The area of honesty and accountability is another hallmark of the Buratai era in the Nigerian Army. This much was tested when a coalition of NGO’s made a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for the expenditure of the Nigerian Army in the fight against terrorism. And guess what? The Nigerian Army indeed shocked the country by availing the expenditure and procurement process to the NGO’s, and as they say, the rest is history. What does this tell us? It merely tells us of a rebranded and modern-day Nigerian Army that has imbibed the principle of transparency and accountability in its dealings, which is a first in the annals of the Nigerian Army.

The third area is the restoration of discipline that at some point, was threatened due to the high rate of unprofessionalism. But all of that has changed since the coming of Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai as the Chief of Army Staff. He restored the glory of the Nigerian Army by putting out measures that would ensure discipline, professionalism, and respect for the constituted authorities in the country.

The 2019 general elections provide us with a worthy example of the level of discipline in the Nigerian Army. It is common knowledge that the non-partisan nature of the Nigerian Army during the general elections was indeed the saving grace for Nigeria’s democracy. This is despite the negative narrative pushed forward by some disgruntled politicians who thought they could have their way in the attempt at subverting the will of the people.

Many would recall that the Chief of Army Staff sounded a note of warning to officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army on the consequences of taking sides during the elections. In some quarters, it was stated that the Chief of Army Staff was harsh with the directive, but what they do not know is that the constitutional role of the Army does not provide for partisanship in its conduct and operations.

There is also the area of innovation and researches in modern trends in warfare. This much can be seen in the quality of investigations been conducted at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre which was established in November 2015 in line of is the vision to have a professionally responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.

I recall that the first major assignment of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre was to conduct a study of the Nigerian Army Command Secondary Schools to reposition them for better performances. This is aside from the mandate of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, which is aimed at optimizing Nigeria’s national security and state-building.

So in a way, his exploits as the Chief of Army Staff indeed did not come to some of us as a surprise given his vast knowledge of leadership and war studies. As one that has followed the transformation of the Nigerian Army under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, I say with all sense of humility and sincerity that the there have been tremendous improvements in critical areas of the operations of the Nigerian Army that has made it a modern-day Army by several indicators.

It is, therefore, succinct to state that the above mentioned were brought about by leadership of the Nigerian Army that emphasized bringing out the best and only the best given its strategic role in the protection of the territorial sovereignty of Nigeria.
Lest I forget, the various operations of the Nigerian Army across the country have received commendation from far and near. A good example was the award bestowed on the Chief of Army Staff at the 7th Edition of the African Leadership Magazine Persons of the Year Award at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg South Africa in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Africa’s security, economic growth, and development.

At the event, it was stated that the commitment and exemplary leadership exhibited by Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai stood him out among African leaders that contributed to the security of the continent.

Need I say more? In my opinion, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai should serve as a lesson in history on leadership for the upcoming generation of leaders, not just in Nigeria but also on the African continent.

Audu, a veteran of the Nigerian Armed Forces wrote from Port Harcourt.