IF NOT GEN. MALU, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN WHO I'M TODAY- Lt. Gen. Buratai

By James Ornguga

Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has described former Chief of Army Staff, the late General Victor Malu as the man behind his military success story.

The Chief of Army Staff made this revelation during a reception organised for him and his entourage by the Senate Committee Chairman on Army, Senator Dr George Akume in his Makurdi residence, as he visits the state to witness General Malu's burial.

General Buratai said he got to a frustrating point in his military career, a situation which put him on the verge of retiring at the rank of a Major, if not that God used the late General Malu who intervened in his case and others.

He dedicated his position as Chief of Army Staff and whichever greater rank he will hold in his service life to the former Commander of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) saying he was indebted to the deceased and indeed the entire Benue State.

The Chief of Army Staff portrayed the late General Malu as a brave soldier who recorded much successes through dedicated efforts adding that Benue has particularly lost a rare gem and dependable asset that was the envy of not just Nigeria but the entire African continent.

Also speaking, Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom represented by his Commissioner for Works, Transport and Energy, Hon. Emmanuel Torkuma Manger thanked the Chief of Army Staff for his painstaking arrangements towards the burial of the late General Malu whom he said had made Benue and Nigeria proud through his remarkable military prowesses.

The Governor praised the working relationship between the Chief of Army Staff and the Senate Committee Chairman on Army, Senator Dr George Akume noting that Benue would continue to support all development efforts of the federal government.

Earlier in his welcome address, Leader of the All Progressives Congress in North Central Nigeria, Senator Dr George Akume expressed pain at the demise of the late General Malu saying he was a great man who never swerved in his right decisions, not minding who's ox was gored.

The Senator representing Benue North West Senatorial District reemphasized the need to immortalize the late Malu in reward of his excellent input in strengthening the Nigerian Army.

He called for more enlistment of Benue youths in the Nigerian Army informing that Benue was a haven for committed persons as such, more indigenes of the state were needed in service.

The late General Malu died in a Cairo Hospital recently and would be buried in his Katsina Ala hometown this Saturday.