…Says Terrorists Using Gold To Fund Operations
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has advised Nigerians to learn combat skills to protect themselves in the face of danger.
The defence chief stated this as a guest on Channels Television\u2019s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
He likened the acquisition of martial arts like Karate, Taekwondo, and Judo to driving, swimming and other survival skills.
Asked whether he would advise Nigerians to learn combat skills for self-defence, General Musa said, \u201cThat one should be taken as learning driving, learning how to swim. Whether we have war or not, it is a survival instinct.
\u201cIn Europe, swimming is compulsory. Learning and teaching about security (is compulsory) because you have to learn what security is.\u201d
General Musa said the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) ought to train Nigerian graduates on unarmed combat skills for day-to-day survival against dark-hearted men.
He said, \u201cThat\u2019s what the NYSC is supposed to do, but the NYSC has been watered down to three weeks.
\u201cI think it is important that we are able to give every Nigerian security awareness at whatever level. Self-defence is very important. Unarmed combat. Swimming. Driving. These are critical aspects for human endeavours.
\u201cThese are things we should never take for granted because they prepare you for the future. The world we are in now is dangerous. We have individuals who don\u2019t mean people well. They kill for whatever reason.\u201d
General Musa said security is the business of all Nigerians, even as he urged citizens to be situationally aware of their surroundings to fish out strange and suspicious faces.
General Musa said terrorists in Nigeria are increasingly using gold as a means to finance their operations.
He explained that terror financiers rely on complex networks, including international connections, which make it difficult to immediately expose or prosecute them.
When asked about the main source of financing for these groups, the defence chief replied, \u201cGold. They try to circulate this money, and that is why it is important for us to be able to track these things.
\u201cThe process is on. It has to do with a lot of legal issues, and because it has to do with international connections, some of them have funds coming from outside, we cannot do anything from within.\u201d
He admitted that bad road networks and difficult terrains are limiting the military\u2019s ability to respond swiftly to terror and bandit attacks across Nigeria.
General Musa said many Nigerians often expect immediate intervention from members of the Armed Forces without understanding the logistical challenges involved.
\u201cA lot of people think (members of) the military are magicians; we are not, we are humans just like anybody. Most times, in these areas where attacks occur, there are either no networks or the roads are very bad.
\u201cBy the time the information reaches you, the terrorists or bandits already know\u2014they strike quickly, and within five minutes they have disappeared because they have easier mobility to move out as fast as possible,\u201d he said.
The defence chief explained that in the North-East, the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) makes movement particularly slow.
He assured Nigerians that troops are on the trail of insurgents and won\u2019t relent until they are crushed.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
…Says Terrorists Using Gold To Fund Operations The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has advised Nigerians to learn combat skills to protect themselves in the face of danger. The defence chief stated this as a guest on Channels Television\u2019s Politics Today programme on Thursday. He likened the acquisition of martial arts like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n