Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Christopher Musa called on all Nigerians, urging them to nurture love and confidence in their country, as he hammered on the collective responsibility for its peace and progress.
Musa delivered this appeal on Monday during his visit to ailing personnel at the Defence Headquarters Hospital in Abuja, marking both Christmas and his birthday.
Musa implored everyone to demonstrate love for the country, stressing that fleeing is not a solution.
‘We must stay and fight whatever challenge is.’
‘Those countries they are running to stood back and fought and got to where they are.’
‘If they had ran away, they would not have achieved that for them to go and meet them.’
The CDS also called on Nigerians to take ownership of the challenges facing the country, adding that the security challenge is not an armed forces challenge or police or that of any individual .
According to him, it is a collective effort for Nigeria and all Nigerians should put hands together.
‘We cannot do it alone. We need the support of everyone. When you see something, say something, report as quickly as possible so that measures can be put in place adequately.’
‘We will continue to seek for support of members of the public to take ownership of our challenges.’
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‘Nigeria is our own. If Nigeria succeeds, we all succeed, if Nigeria fails we all fail and we don’t want Nigeria to fail.’
‘So I call on all Nigerians to give us all the support,’ he added.
Musa affirmed that the hospital visit aligned with his people-centric leadership concept.
Musa clarified that the outreach aimed to ensure that both security agents and citizens experienced the tangible impact of shared love, particularly in the realm of healthcare.
According to Musa, it is meaningful during this festive period to visit those in hospitals who may not be able to celebrate, inquire about their well-being, and extend heartfelt wishes.
‘It is for them to always know that we are always with them, we are praying with them and we want them to recover so that they can come back fully to life.’
‘We will continue to do that as we have been doing. So this is just not a one off thing, it is something we do regularly,’ he said.
The CDS, as reported by Africa Today News, New York, contributed to the festive spirit by generously donating hampers and cash gifts to all the patients during the hospital visit.
Upon reaching the hospital wards, the patients were heard singing a birthday song for the CDS, who then shared words of encouragement with each individual before personally making donations from bed to bed.