Former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Martin-Luther Agwai, on Thursday called on Nigerians to support the Nigerian Army to win the war against the Boko Haram insurgents.

Agwai, who was the special guest at a seminar to round off activities to mark the 2017 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL), said the support was necessary as military might alone could not win the war.

“If people believe that it is only the military that can bring an end to Boko Haram war they are making mistake because those who are involved in the warfare are after political and not only military targets.

“It is important to note that this type of warfare is difficult to win.

“Strategically, the enemy in this warfare remains focused on changing the minds of decision makers.

“Politically, it involves national and international networks. Operationally, it uses different messages to different audiences, ” he said.

The former army chief warned that the Boko-Haram terrorists were after the political class and other high ranking Nigerians, contrary to the notion that the terrorists were only after military personnel.

He, however, suggested that almost all personnel in the army should be given infantry training, irrespective of their calling, if the war against terrorism must be won.

“My suggestion is that the Nigerian Army must be infantry dominated to fight the next war that we are fighting. It must be infantry dominated.

“Every army personnel should have the skill to perform infantry functions whether you are in the engineering or the armoured corps or any other corps; because everywhere is a battle field you don’t know where warfare will start.

“The clear message is that the infantry dominated at the tactical level and that is where the enemy fights more. With all the strategies you have if you do not have tactical capabilities you will be defeated,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 12 officers and four soldiers were presented with awards for outstanding performance during the occasion.