In a bid to achieve a professional Nigerian Army ready to accomplish assigned missions within a joint environment in defense of Nigeria, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, has emphasized the importance of Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs). He made this assertion at the Nigerian Army (NA) First Regimental Sergeant Majors’ Convention for the year 2023 held at Crispan Suites, Jos, Plateau State, which lasted for a week and was declared closed Today, May 12, 2023.
Gen Yahaya commended the RSMs for their vital roles in impacting knowledge and mentoring young officers and soldiers deployed to their new units. He described them as an embodiment of unit discipline, regimentation, and experience. He urged them to groom their subordinates to become good soldiers, take interest in their welfare, and checkmate untoward activities and vices in their units and formations.
The COAS charged the RSMs to be committed and exemplary in their conduct and carriage to present themselves as worthy ensamples for emulation by younger soldiers. He emphasized the role of the RSMs in promoting professionalism in the NA and urged them to employ the knowledge and skills acquired from the convention to positively impact troops’ discipline and regimentation in their various units and formations.
The 2023 RSMs’ Convention had the theme, “The Roles of Regimental Sergeant Majors’ in Upholding the Tenets of Professionalism in the Social Media Era,” which was carefully selected to positively shape troops’ behavior and bring about attitudinal change in tandem with extant Social Media policy and guidelines of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Delivering his remarks earlier, the Chief of Administration (Army), Major General Wilson Ali, pointed out that the 2023 RSMs’ Convention was a huge success as the participants would take home several new skills and lessons to enhance professionalism in their respective units and formations. He appreciated the COAS for prioritizing troops’ welfare in his administration of the NA.
The climax of the ceremony was the presentation of certificates to participants by the COAS, signifying the end of the week-long convention. The crucial roles of the RSMs have inspired the leadership of the NA to deepen its interest in their welfare and capacity development of every soldier of the NA. The COAS has reiterated his commitment to achieving a professional Nigerian Army, and the RSMs are a key part of this vision.
