by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
Security Agencies in Plateau State during the week embarked on a “Maiden Route March” for physical fitness. At least 20 security agencies participated in the event, which lasted for some 2 hours.
Middle-Belt Newsnetworks Ltd gathered that all the security agencies assembled at the Jos Polo Field at the early hours of about 5.30 am of Saturday.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Armour Division, Nigerian Army and Commander Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH), Jos, Maj-Gen AE Abubakar, said the 10-kilometre work was for physical fitness.
He added that the Maiden Route March walk was organized by the Nigerian Army in collaboration with all security agencies in the state.
“We have over 20 different security agencies here, and over 1,000 security agencies have formed up. This cannot be found in any other place,” he noted.
He narrated that, “The military will synergize and collaborate with all the security agencies in the State to ensure that the state is safe. The walk the security agencies have done is to ensure the citizens in the state are safe.”
Maj-Gen Abubakar explained the importance of the physical and mental alertness of troops as “key to overcoming the security challenges, as there is the need for all the officers to be fit.”
“The walk that we do is to make sure the citizens of the state are safe. It’s mentally demanding and physically challenging; and that is why we must keep fit, so that we are able to deliver on our constitutional mandate,” he stated.
According to him, “The essence of this security walk cannot be overemphasized, for in the last two hours, you have walked 10 km. I bet you, you have walked on all the muscles in your body. You are lighter, faster, and healthier and, indeed, going forward, you would be able to perform your roles optimally.
“The Command and vision philosophy of both the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, and indeed all the service chiefs and all the heads of the security agencies at the federal level rest on three basic fulcrums,” the GOC stressed.
He noted, too, that “It is jointness, synergy, and cooperation; that is why we are here today, to show the people on the Plateau State that we are one, we are cooperating with each other.
“We will synergize to ensure that the state is safe. Look at what we have achieved – a thousand of you came out at early as fortnight this morning, and we have walked round the whole metropolis. You don’t need any other evidence to show that all the security agencies in the plateau are working as one,” he stated.
The GOC appreciated all the various heads of security agencies in the state for the logistics they have deployed to make sure that the maiden security walk was a success, and assured that “We would continue to sustain and maintain this at the end of every month because, already we are seeing the benefits.”
The route walk started at Jos Polo Field through Old Airport down to Air Force Base, along old Airport Rayfield Road Jos.
Our correspondent reports that Security Agencies that participated in the physical fitness walk exercise include the Nigerian Army, Police, DSS, NSCDC, Customs, Immigration, NDLEA, Corpers, Operation Rainbow and Road Safety Corps, among others.