Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Nigerian Army says it would continue to adopt new strategies in tackling the security challenges facing the nation.
Aside being proactive, the Army said its officers would be exposed to new mental models of managing asymmetric security challenges of the 21st century.
Chief of Army staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai made this known at the commissioning of the Army War College of Nigeria’s permanent site, in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Gen. Buratai, who described the College as ‘the military laboratory’ for the Nigerian Army, however, tasked the institution to generate operational strategies and propose workable courses of action.
Said he, “The College is poised to be a regional center of excellence that would give professional military education to middle cadre officers as well as provide an opportunity for them to rethink and re-strategies on the best approach to confront most security challenges facing the nation today”.
The Army chief used the occasion to reiterate the caution to army personnel to remain apolitical, warning that any attempt to politicize the profession will be strongly resisted and defaulters severely dealt with.
He continued, “Let me use this occasion to unequivocally state that all officers and men of the NA must continue to remain apolitical and loyal to the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
“Any attempt to politicize our noble profession will be strongly resisted and defaulters severely dealt with. Our main focus now is to improve in the intellectual capacity of our operational level leaders”
Buratai, who declared the determination of the Nigerian army to be proactive in dealing with insecurity, said “the ever changing environment that we live in requires new mental models which promotes creativity, critical and systems thinking skills as well as deep understanding of operational art and campaign planning”.
Gen. Buratai, while expressing the hope that strategic skills taught at the college would form the fulcrum and flagship of the institution, charged prospective officers to utilize opportunities of the college to improve their individual and collective capacities towards a better understanding of managing asymmetric war.