Malian Chief of Army Staff Seeks Nigeria’s Training Support
The Chief of the Army Staff of Mali, Colonel-Major Abdulrahman Baby has sought for the support of the Armed Forces of Nigeria on the issue of education and further Military Training of the Malian military. Colonel-Major Baby sought for the support when he paid a Courtesy Call on the Commandant National Defence College Nigeria, Rear Admiral SI Alade while on official visit to Nigeria.
According to him, ‘the very objective of our visit here to Nigeria is to explore your service in education and further training of our personnel. I have the opportunity of meeting with my counterpart, General Buratai, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, and we had some very good discussion which we intend to pursue till something positive comes out of it,’’ he said.
Colonel-Major Baby then disclosed that he deemed it fit, together with members of his entourage to visit the College, which he described as an epitome of Military Institution that is doing great things in Africa. He also disclosed that Mali have the privilege of also training some of its Officers in Nigeria, which he affirmed are doing a fantastic job over there in Mali. He therefore expressed his appreciation for the good work that is being done at the College.
The Malian Chief of Army Staff observed the complexity of the Security Challenges bedevilling the West African sub-region, and stated that the dynamics required a thorough, sound and definite understanding of the environment. In this regard, Colonel-Major Baby then declared that it became necessary for National Defence College Nigeria to continue to expose its Participants to those very important issues so that they can later be prepared to appropriately handle security challenges ravaging the West African sub-region and other parts of Africa. He said, ‘’we acknowledged the effort you are putting in place and the courage in pursuing your objectives. Thank you very much,’’ he added.
In his remarks, the Commandant, National Defence College, Rear Admiral SI Alade reiterated the readiness of the College to support Mali in any way possible as far as training of its personnel is concerned. He recalled that while the College was in Mali for its maiden Regional Study Tour, he had the privilege of discussing on the subject matter with the Malian Authority, and he confirmed that the President also mentioned the issue of exchange in training alongside Military Traditions. ‘’ That message, I brought home and was very clearly stated in my report that with Mali in particular, there should be closer collaboration,’’ He said.
Moreover the Commandant viewed that it would be good for the two nations if the aspect of further collaboration in Military Training gets fully operationalized. In addition, he revealed that both himself and the Malian President also observed the need for the sub-region to find solution to its issue of language barrier by probably adopting a particular language for official communications. ‘’I want to seize this opportunity to thank the people and the government of Mali for hosting us the last time we were there, and I can assure you all that the objective behind the visit was well realised’’, Rear Admiral Alade stated.
