According to a report by NTA, on Tuesday May 19, 2026, In a deeply personal and revealing interview on NTA Network’s Conversation with History, the former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of Nigeria, retired General Lucky Irabor, opened up about the heavy, unseen burdens carried by military commanders behind the public glitz of successful operations.…....
Reflecting on his storied career particularly his time leading high-profile counter-insurgency campaigns against Boko Haram General Irabor cautioned the public against assuming that military victories are seamless or without immense internal friction.
“Earlier on you asked me you know some of the exploits,” Irabor stated, reflecting on his time in theater. “So what is known is that there were exploits but nobody knew the pains that I was going through. What deprivations that made me to be able to make those exploits.”
The former defense chief described these hardships as encompassing every facet of a soldier’s well-being, stretching far beyond the dangers of the physical battlefield. He noted experiencing “deprivations physically, deprivations emotionally, deprivations in various forms.”
Beyond the physical toll, Irabor spoke candidly about the intellectual and systemic isolation that can occur at the apex of military command, pointing out times when even institutional leadership fell short of providing guidance.
“And then I had questions that I had to ask myself, things that my superiors could not provide answers to the same way,” he shared.
Despite the daunting nature of the assignment and the lack of immediate answers, Irabor credits a mindset of resilience and adaptability for turning the tide during his commands.
“So, but of course I was encouraged. Look, in life you can never have it all rosy. You will always have challenges. Just hold on and then you know try to be more creative,” Irabor explained. “And that of course brought that was that was the turning point and of course we made all the gains that we made.”
He concluded with a sharp reminder to the public and the media, who often celebrate battlefield victories without understanding the grueling reality and strategic crises happening behind closed doors.
“When you hear of operation as commander operation, oh it’s all clap, clap, clap and roar as if there were no issues,” Irabor said.
