The Role of the Armed Forces in Maintaining Stability

Millions of years ago, in the jungle, before the invention of any type of weapon, human beings, even animals, were ruled by the strongest among them. The invention of weapons, especially the firearm, somewhat brought to an end the era of rule by the physically strongest. One bullet from a gun in the hand of the weakest person can kill the strongest person in the world!

So, from the rule of the physically strongest, human societies transited to the rule of the best armed person or group of them. When armed men and women organise themselves into a formal group, they become an army. How societies succeeded in subjecting armed men and women to the authority of unarmed people is still one of the wonders of the world.

Apart from defending a country from external aggression, maintaining its territorial integrity, securing its borders from violation on land, sea or air, the armed forces also have the constitutional mandate to suppress insurrection and act in aid of civil authorities to restore order. This last role of the armed forces makes them stabilisers of the society, or forces of checks and balances.

Without the armed forces, society will relapse to the rule of the jungle, kratocracy, or even anarchy. If there are no armed forces, bandits, terrorists, or even individuals who have enough resources to establish their own militias will hijack the government. An elected president can also engage in insurrection. We saw this play out in the United States in 2020.

According to a book, “I Alone Can Fix It” by two Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters, Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, Gen. Mark Milley, the chair of the U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff, had feared in the wake of the 2020 United States election that then-President Donald Trump and his allies might attempt a military coup to stay in power, after he lost the election.

As revealed in the book, Gen. Milley took steps to guard against such a move by Trump or those around him. And when Trump attacked him, Gen. Milley said he was a soldier who has been faithful to the Constitution of the United States for nearly 45 years.

For these reasons, the allegiance of a country’s armed forces should be to the Constitution, not to the president, even though the president is the commander-in-chief. If the president and other politicians know that the armed forces are neutral and would not obey their illegalities, they will be careful about what they do in office.

It is when the armed forces understand their stabilising role in the affairs of a country and play that role with all sense of patriotism, that the country experiences stability and prosperity. Conversely, when the armed forces allow themselves to be pocketed by politicians, like in most African countries, what we get is nothing but failed states.

We therefore congratulate the Nigeria Armed Forces on the celebration of Armed Forces Remembrance Day, while urging them to be true stabilisers of Nigeria.