By Nkechi Eze
As part of promoting indigenous businesses, prioritizing safety and enhancing operational readiness, the Nigerian Air Force under the astute leadership of the Chief Of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar has made a notable stride in enhancing its operational readiness and safety capabilities with the recent handing over of 8 refurbished and upgraded fire trucks. The commissioning ceremony, which took place today 16 April 2025, at the Mogadishu Cantonment, marked the official rollout of 8 fully modernized fire trucks.
This development marks a significant milestone in the NAF’s commitment to fostering a safety-conscious force, aligning with the Chief of Air Staff’s command philosophy. The initiative also resonates with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to prudent resource utilization, ensuring that resources are optimally allocated and utilized to achieve national security objectives without wastage.
The Chief of Air Staff in his remarks at the ceremony of the handing over of the refurbished and upgraded fire trucks, described the refurbished fire trucks as a testament to the Nigerian Air Force unwavering dedication to operational readiness, safety, and emergency response capabilities.
“This event is not merely a symbolic gesture, but a visible demonstration of our unrelenting commitment to operational readiness, safety, and enhanced emergency response capability.“
It is indeed a testament to the fulfilment of my command philosophy to “transform the NAF into an agile and resilient force that effectively meets the airpower demands of national security in all operational environments.” He said.
The CAS further emphasized his primary role of transforming the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to effectively carry out its constitutional role of protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity through air defence.
“The overarching objective of my command philosophy is to reposition the Nigerian Air Force to effectively fulfill its constitutional mandate of defending the territorial integrity of our nation through the air.”
The CAS further disclosed that the Nigerian Air Force is prioritizing air operations with a focus on expanding its fleet, enhancing combat readiness, and ensuring operational safety.
According to him, to achieve this, around 1,500 personnel have been trained in safety-related areas, including fire safety and prevention, which demonstrates the NAF’s commitment to safety awareness to further transform the NAF into a more effective and efficient force capable of meeting national security demands.
“As an integral component of this thrust, fire safety is receiving renewed and focused attention.
“We are undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of fire safety equipment to ensure seamless and secure air operations across all units.
“We are in the process of establishing a centralized Fire Safety Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, to be integrated into our well-established Safety Management System (SMS).
The CAS stated that the framework will improve the NAF’s ability to monitor compliance, detect potential risks, and inform decision-making with data at all levels of command and headquarters.
The Chief of Air Staff extended his gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his ongoing support, which has enabled the Nigerian Air Force to evolve into a more agile and resilient force. He also thanked the engineers, technicians and partners, particularly Messrs Afrodezt Global Services Limited, for their professionalism and dedication to the project.
Earlier, while giving a brief highlights on the repairs, refurbishment and upgrades of the NAF fire trucks, the Managing Director, Afrodezt Global Services Limited, Mazi Emmanuel Olugbuo, expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Air Force and its leadership for the opportunity to refurbish and upgrade its firefighting trucks.
According to him the company’s journey began when a key individual, encouraged them to venture into maintenance and refurbishment of Navy fire systems between 2005 and 2007. This led to winning contracts and eventually expanding into fire truck repair, refurbishment, and upgrade.
He noted that Afrodezt have made significant progress, including: refurbishing old fire trucks, some manufactured as far back as 1982-83, installing modern pumping systems, overhauling and upgrading complete fire truck bodies, changing systems from old to new, showcasing their growth and capabilities.
“Afrodezt highly appreciates the Nigerian Air Force for having confidence in their work, we started with the first two fire trucks, and subsequent additional projects. We are now poised with handing over the refurbished firefighting trucks to the Nigerian Air Force, which is a major feat accomplished.” He said.
The event was attended by notable figures including Branch Chiefs from the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, Rear Admiral Harry Arugudade, and Alh Liman Ibrahim, the former Comptroller General of the Federal Fire Service, among others.
Key highlights included a demonstration of the fire trucks, the official handover ceremony of the trucks, and a group photo session.
