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| Nigerian Navy. File photo |
The Nigerian Navy (NN) on Saturday warned its personnel to stay away from drugs in order to perform their assigned tasks optimally.
Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) Rear Admiral Stanfford Enoch gave the warning after the quarterly 10km route march designed to test the physical and mental fitness of officers and ratings of the NN.
The FOC who was represented by the commandโs Chief Staff Officer (CSO) Rear Admiral Idowu Yusuf said the warning was necessary giving the scourge of drug abuse the country was currently battling.
According to him, the navy must not wait until a became a problem in the service before warning its personnel, reminding them of the peculiarity of the naval force and the need to be psychologically, physically and mentally alert at all times.
Enoch also warned the operarives to avoid practices, actions that could bring the navy to disrepute including flaunting traffic laws in any part of the country especially Lagos.
He said the command would not hesitate to sanction any of its operatives caught disobeying traffic laws, reminding them that the military uniform does not give them immunity from punishment if they commit any crime.
On the route march, the FOC said the exercise which brings all units and formations under the command together once a quarter was in line with directives from the Naval Headquarters.
He said the aim was to assess their physical fitness, mental alertness, stamina and psychological disposition, applauding the about 1,000 personnel who partook in it for exhibiting combat readiness.
โLet me start by saying bravo zulu (congratulations) to the entire command for the impressive turnout for this exercise. It shows that personnel of the command are physically, mentally and psychologically fit and can be called upon at any time to carry out the duty required of it.
โWe went for roughly 10km march and nobody fell or broke down. It is good and shows that we are alert. I want to encourage you all to do more sports at your convenience.
โSports is life. Naval personnel fight mostly on water and so, must go the extra mile to ensure physical fitness in order not to fall short on any assignment given.
โI want to also reiterate the commandโs position on discipline. You must carry yourselves in that light and avoid getting involved in anything that could smear the image of the navy. Stay away from drug abuse. You cannot perform optimally if you are on drugs,โ he said.
The Nation reports that the route march which began from the command headquarters in Harbour Road, Apapa, extended to Costain and back chanting, clapping and jogging occasionally.
The Western Naval Command (WNC) also had its quarterly route march inside Navy Town Ojo which was led by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Rear Admiral Oladele Daji.
According to Daji 2,184 ratings and 165 officers participated in the march that commenced from the Naval Air Base, Ojo, which served to boost public confidence.
โNigeria Navy Ship (NNS) WEY, Western Fleet, NNS BEECROFT, Navy Reference hospital, among others participated in this route march. In the face of the current security challenges in the country, the need to keep personnel fit for operations cannot be overemphasized.
โThat is why fitness and mental alertness are among the critical elements of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibasโ policy thrust.
โIt is with this in mind that the Nigerian Navy organise a-day route march every quarter aimed at raising the level of physical fitness of personnel in the command,โ he said.
