The Commandant of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, (AFCSC) Jaji, Air Vice Marshal Suleiman Abubakar Dambo has charged young military officers undergoing tactics grilling in military training institutions in the country to brace themselves for tougher tasks brought about by new and choking internal security challenges.
AVM Dambo said development of tough mental and psychological attributes are required especially in decimating the insurgents in the North East and defeating the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta. They are also required in tackling the menace of kidnapping and cattle rustling in other to promote peaceful co-existence and national development”.
The Commandant spoke weekend when ten International Military Officers from Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Cameroon, Rwanda, Niger, Togo, Liberia, Gambia, Benin Republic and Botswana who were among 174 officers, graduated at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College.
Emphasizing the importance of training in the armed forces especially at this critical time in the nation’s history when the military is intensifying its efforts in the fight against terrorism and insurgency, AVM Dambo AFCSC will remain unrelenting in its efforts at imparting good, responsive and qualitative training to student officers in other to develop their leadership qualities.
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In a similar vein, the Commandant disclosed that the College is in the process of reviewing and expanding its curriculum to reflect emerging military thinking in warfare as well as staff development, and to bring it in tandem with contemporary security challenges confronting the nation and the continent.
“In our quest to better understand the concept of unconventional warfare, the college sent four (4) teams comprising directors, chief instructors and members of directing staff to staff colleges in Colombia, Pakistan, the Philippines’ and Sri-Lanka.
“The visit to these countries enabled the college to learn from their experiences in dealing with the menace of terrorism and insurgency” adding, “It is hoped that the knowledge gained from these countries as well as experiences in the north east and Niger Delta will further guide the college in its curriculum review.
The 174 students comprise 91 Nigerian Army officers, 39 Nigerian Navy officers, 29 Nigerian Airforce officers and 5 non-military students from the office of the National Security Adviser, the National Intelligence Agency, the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Nigerian Defence Academy and the Prisons Service
Chief of Naval staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas who was the guest of honour, told the students, “This graduation has to understood as a certification for higher appointment and greater responsibilities that would challenge you and test the skills ingrained in you through this programme.
“For members of the Nigerian armed forces, your sense of judgment in applying these skills would even be more demanded now that we are confronting a lot of internal security challenges in the country, especially the menace of Boko Haram and renewed militancy in Niger Delta” he said.
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