By Lawrence Audu
All is now set for the commencement of Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) 2022. This year’s celebration which marks the 159th year of Nigerian Army’s existence since its formation is scheduled to take place in Owerri, Imo State in Southeast Nigeria.
The annual event which holds on 6th July of every year, commemorates the day the unfortunate Nigerian Civil War broke out, when the very first shot that commenced the war was fired at Garkem in the present-day Cross River State.
This year’s NADCEL with the theme: “Repositioning the Nigerian Army in the Joint Operations Environment: A Panacea for Success in Addressing Contemporary Security Challenges” is scheduled to hold from 1 – 6 July 2022, in Owerri, Imo State and it is intended to celebrate the Nigerian Army’s achievements and also showcase the Army’s operational activities, as well as its transformational strides in innovation, development, civil-military cooperation research and technological advancement.
Briefing journalists on the activities slated for the event at the Army Headquarters, the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Major General Anthony Omozoje,  said: “The date is set aside by the Nigerian Army to remind us about our past and the need to employ tactful and mediatory conflict resolution approaches rather than resorting to armed conflict.
“It also reminds us of the ‘No victor, no vanquished’ slogan at the end of the civil war underscoring the need to promote national unity, peace and cohesion strengthened by our diversities.
The Army Chief said, the week-long NADCEL is therefore, an important annual event in the calendar of the Nigerian Army due to its significance to National security, peace and unity of the country.
“It also offers the Nigerian Army an opportunity to take stock, assess its performance, interface with the public, and set goals for the succeeding year with a view to maintaining a highly professional Army, well trained, combat ready and effectively positioned to perform its constitutional roles.
The celebration is also aimed at protecting the Army as a development instrument of national unity, integration and as well highlighting the achievements, as capabilities and positive corporate image and reputation of the Nigerian Army.
Highlights of the event includes special Jumma’at Prayers, which will take place on Friday 1 July 2022, in all Nigerian Army Formations and units to be followed by a Golf Tournament at Arsenal Golf Club, Owerri on Saturday 2nd July 2022. An Interdenominational Service will also be held across Nigerian Army formations and units on Sunday 3rd July 2022, free medical outreaches in all units and formations while the event would be wrapped up with a Grand Finale, on Wednesday 6th July 2022 at Heroes Square, Owerri. The Grand Finale will feature the exhibition of Nigerian Army Research and Development Projects, presentation of COAS Commendation Awards to deserving officers and soldiers and regimental military parades, static display and combat equipment march past.
The Nigerian Army, saddled with the constitutional mandate of defending the territorial integrity of the nation has a rich history dating back to 1863, when Lieutenant Glover of the Royal Navy organised 18 indigenes of Northern Nigeria into a local force known as the “Glover Hausas”. This local force went through several stages of metamorphosis and eventually became part of a larger Military body established by Lord Fredrick Lugard in 1900 known as the West African Frontier Force (WAFF). Since then, the force went through several transformational stages with consequent changes in nomenclature namely the Nigerian Regiment, Queen’s Own Nigerian Regiment, and Nigerian Military Force, before adopting its current name, the Nigerian Army.