By Nkechi Eze
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has made a commitment to modernize the Nigerian Army’s equipment and transform its training programs. Specifically, he aims to upgrade the army’s equipment and lead the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) in revolutionizing personnel training, as outlined in the Nigerian Army Training Directive 2025.
Lt Gen Oluyede made the statement Tuesday, 7th Jan, 2025, while declaring open the Doctrine and Training Conference for the year 2025 in Minna.
A press statement made available to newsmen by Director Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu said the COAS while addressing participants clarified that the conference offers a veritable platform for in-depth deliberations on the implementation of doctrine and training directives in the Nigerian Army (NA) for year 2025 and beyond.
The COAS noted with satisfaction, the alignment of the conference theme, “Understanding Nigerian Army Doctrine for Effective Training within a Joint Environment” with his Command Philosophy “To Consolidate the Transformation of the Nigerian Army Towards bequeathing a well-motivated and combat-ready force that can effectively discharge its constitutional responsibilities within a Joint and multi-agency environment.”
Identifying the 4 key pillars of his Command‘s Philosophy which includes Leadership, Sound Administration, Professionalism, and Combat Readiness, Gen Oluyede said highlights the importance of Doctrine within the Nigerian Army.
He restated his commitment to vigorously pursuing realistic training, adequate troops’ sustenance, pragmatic equipment procurement and maintenance, stressing that these are critical requirements for combat readiness and operational success in the NA.
The Army Chief noted that the Nigerian Army has prioritized equipment upgrades and manpower boosts over the past ten years in order to deal with the country’s current security and defense environments, which are marked by both domestic and transnational challenges, such as terrorism, insurgency, banditry, conflicts between farmers and herders, and economic crimes like vandalism of oil and gas pipelines and secessionist agitations.
The COAS expressed optimism that the conference will thoroughly assess Nigeria’s current security and defence environments, crically evaluate the NA’s training curriculum, and propose new ideas on how the Nigerian Army trains and fights.
The Commander, TRADOC, Maj Gen Kevin Aligbe in his welcome address, pointed out that the conference sets the tone for training activities in all Nigerian Army Training Schools and institutions by drawing inspiration from the extant Nigerian Army’s Proactive Responsive Doctrine to guide the training on how troops fight.
He stated that the tailor-made approach to training is to develop the capacity to respond to the multi-faceted and sometimes mutating security challenges the Nigerian Army is tasked to mitigate.
Major General Aligbe harped on the importance of the NA collaborating with sister services and other government security agencies as well as non-governmental stakeholders to secure the country for economic prosperity and development.
After inaugurating the conference, the COAS also took time to interact with troops in Minna Cantonment, where he assured them that their welfare is topmost in the agenda of his command.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) made a commitment to tackle the identified challenges head-on, working within the available resources. He also rallied the troops to go above and beyond in providing top-notch security, which is essential for the country’s socio-economic growth and development.
Lieutenant General Oluyede expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, for providing strategic guidance that has enhanced the Nigerian Army’s collaborative efforts with other security agencies to combat the nation’s enemies.
