COAS Lectures NDC Course 22 Participants
The chief of army staff (COAS), Lt Gen Kenneth Minimah, on Wednesday, 9th July, 2014, lectured participants of National Defence College (NDC) Course 22 on the Nigerian Army, its challenges and future perspectives. The lecture which was part of a series of lectures designed to acquaint the participants with the service by the service chiefs, was held at the Abacha Hall of the College.
The lecture which was an expose highlighted the Nigerian Army History, roles, mission and capability, threats to Nigeria’s security, the current force structure, as well as challenges to Nigerian Army operational efficiency and the future perspectives and policy direction. The COAS stated that the paradigm shift in threat perceptions has necessitated the re-organising of the Army in tune with the current threat perceptions and in line with the Army constitutional roles. General Minimah named the current security and threat perception to include those resulting from terrorism and insurgency, Information and Communication technology, migration, globalisation, scare resources economic imbalance, weapon proliferation, cross border banditry, kidnapping, among others.
He lamented the negative consequences of arms proliferation, positing” that the arms feed criminality and violence within our nation.” He was however, quick to enumerate some heart warming measures being taken to enhance the Nigerian Army operational efficiency. The Army chief also used the forum to highlight the challenges and future perspectives and policy direction of the Nigerian Army. He reiterated that the future perspectives and policy direction were being designed to tackle the current security challenges facing the nation. The question and answer session provided an opportunity for the COAS to shed more light on some of the issues raised during the lecture. Responding, the commandant, NDC, Rear Admiral Ndidi Patrick Agholor, thanked the COAS for honouring the invitation to deliver the important lecture despite his crowded schedule.
He particularly expressed his appreciation to the COAS for the rich content of the lecture and the frankness in responding to the questions from the participants.
