Buhari at AFCSC seeks Synergy among African Leaders in Tackling Insecurity

President Muhammadu Buhari has called for synergy among African leaders in tackling the problem of insecurity in the continent.

Delivering an address at the graduation of 182 officers and non military personnel from the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna state, on Thursday, President Buhari said since the nature of security challenges in the continent are mainly trans-border in nature, it has become “imperative that Africa countries work together” to deal with the problems.

He said “as the world shrinks into a global village with the advancement of technology, nations cannot afford but work closely with each other in pursuit of their national interests”.

 Citing the achievements of the multinational joint task force Operation in the Chad Basin, President Buhari said such collaborations is what is need to deal with the problem of global insecurity.

He noted that although Nigeria is having a fair share of insecurity, the Federal Government was determined through capacity building to tackle the challenges adding that his administration will continue to give priority to the training of members of the armed forces to continue to effectively perform their constitutional duties to the nation.

Buhari especially commended members of the armed forces for their roles in fighting insecurity in the country stressing that “The armed forces has continued to be the bastion of our national unity”.

In an earlier address, at the ceremony, the Commandant of the College, Air Vice Marshal Lawal Alao said the curriculum of the college has been upgraded to reflect the present global reality in counter terrorism and counter insurgency.

He noted that the college was established to train senior military officer as well as other personnel in government agencies to deal with increasing responsibilities both in staff and command appointments.

While thanking President Buhari and the National Assembly for their supports in the sustenance of the College, Alao urged the graduands not to relent in their efforts in bettering their career in the overall development of the nation.

A total of 182 military officers and non military personnel within and outside Nigeria participated in the Senior Course 40 of the college.

Breakdown of the graduands are 94 from the Department of Land Warfare; 46 from the Department of Maritime Warfare and 42 from the Department of Air Warfare.

83 of the graduands were from the Nigeria Army; 43 from the Navy and 39 from the Air Force.

Six non military personnel and 11 International officers from 11 countries in Africa also participated at the programme.

At the end of the ceremony, a select number of officers from the182 were handed their certificates of Pass Staff Course (PSC) by President Buhari.

Those who distinguished themselves during the academic year were also handed different awards of excellence with Squadron Leader FI Oyenusi carting award five of the awards.

Those who graced the ceremony were the Governor of Kaduna State and his deputy, ministers of defence, interior and state for budget and national planning as well as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), service chiefs, Inspector General of Police (IGP), senior military officers, past AFCSC commandants, and spouses of the graduands.

Since the inception of the AFCSC in 1976, a total of 15, 943 military and civilian personnel have gone through the senior and junior officers courses of the college.

END