By Sumaila Ogbaje
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, has urged participants of Army War College Nigeria (AWCN) to develop ideas and Knowledge-based solutions that could help in surmounting the nations security challenges.
Yahaya made the call during the inauguration of AWCN Course 6/2022 on Friday in Abuja.
He said the war course was a critical learning curve in military career, adding that the knowledge acquired on the course would determine how well the officers could contribute to the ongoing and future operations.
You must therefore learn to think out of the box not forgetting that contemporary security challenges of the 21st century submit only to knowledge based and specialized efforts.
Hence seize this opportunity to hone your skills accordingly and endeavour to be creative with novel ideas on how best to surmount our challenges.
This is indeed my expectation of you all and that of your Services, Ministries, Agencies and Departments, he said.
The Army chief commended the resilience, dedication, commitment and doggedness of the troops deployed in various trouble spots across the country, adding that the sacrifices of the troops had continued to yields successes.
These successes, according to him, are results of the renewed focus and determination of the armed forces to operate jointly in restoring peace and ensuring security of lives and property in Nigeria.
Yahaya commended the college for its capacity as the premier institution of learning in the Nigerian army and fast becoming a destination of choice for armed forces of several countries in Africa and beyond.
He said that AWCN had since inception in 2017, successfully played its primary role of grooming operational level military officers and a select few from relevant Ministries, Department and Agencies in Nigeria for the onerous task of conflict management and defence.
According to him, the college has shown a defining character in its training and research activities as seen in the sterling performances of its alumni.
The former Chief of Defence Staff, retired Gen. Alexander Ogomudia, in his lecture titled, Military Leadership in a Joint Environment, said that military leadership entailed commanding, motivating and directing others to accomplish desired goals.
Ogomudia said that military leadership was an act that could be learnt in the same way as other endeavours while outlining attributes of a military leader.
He also said that operational commanders must know their men and look out for their welfare as well as ensuring that their task was clearly understood.
Train your men as a team because you must prepare for the battle as well make sound and timely decisions, have a sense of responsibility and employ command capabilities to achieve responsibility.
Successful military leaders must possess enduring personal competence and courage to achieve the responsibility in a complex operational environment, he said.
Ogomudia also urged strategic military leaders to discourage rivalry and jealousy among the various components of the joint operations so as to achieve the desired goals.
The Commandant, Army War College Nigeria, Maj.-Gen. Bamidele Alabi, said the college was established to bridge the knowledge gap between the tactical and strategic levels of leadership in the Nigerian army.
Alabi said the current security environment in the country gave impetus for the need to train professional level leaders to enhance their effectiveness in meeting the operational needs of the military.
He said the college had successfully conducted five war courses since inception, adding that the course 6/2022 was designed to equip participants with the requisite ability to provide answers to problems at operational level.
According to him, participants must know that the task before them on the course is enormous and the stakes are high.
I encourage you to exert yourselves cognitively and think outside the box to add value to the solutions being sought to the many problems which we have been confronted with at operational level, he said.
Alabi said his vision for the college was to institutionalise the college as a centre of excellence through enhancement of robust academic programmes, partnership and collaboration, infrastructure and staff welfare.
He assured that the college under his command would ensure effective delivery of course content, attainment of full structural and academic capacity and contribution to army operational capacity.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AWCN Course 6/2022 has 73 participants comprising of 58 army officers, two officers each from the Nigerian Navy and Air Force, five from four allied countries of Gambia, Liberia, Congo Brazzaville and Rwanda.
There are also six participants, one each from the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Customs Service, Immigration, Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Source: NAN News