By Sumaila Ogbaje
The Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre (NAHFC) has expressed commitment to embark on needs-driven research aimed at bridging identified gaps in the Nigerian army’s tactical, operational and logistics capabilities.
The Director-General of NAHFC, Maj.-Gen. Kamilu Kadiri, gave the assurance at the Orientation Programme of the centre on Wednesday in Abuja.
Kadiri said the centre was established to serve as a research hub for generation of ideas, policies and strategies.
According to him, it will also leverage on the core competence of the Nigerian army to defeat current and future threats and on the other hand preserving its heritage.
He said the centre was hopeful of growing to be one of the very best centres of excellence not only in Africa but globally.
He said the main objective of the center was to leverage on lessons drawn from the history and heritage of the Nigerian army to improve on its current and future operations.
According to him, the mission of the center is to be a research hub for generation of ideas, policies and strategies, leveraging on the core competencies of the Nigerian army to defeat current and future trends while preserving its heritage.
He said the orientation programme was therefore focused on the need for the center to discuss and adopt appropriate research methodology design.
“The center shall also be taking a presentation from our ‘A’ Team with the hope that discussions during the interactive session will assist us in working out effective synergy between the ‘A’ Team and the center.
“It is my hope that this orientation programme and the visits that will be conducted to these institutions will position the center to attain its vision of enhancing Nigerian army capabilities through analysis of policies, practices and procedures by proposing noble and pragmatic arguments through innovation and application of technology.
“The Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Center is the first of its kind in the history and evolution of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“The Chief of Army Staff, in his inaugural lecture stressed on security matters among others. The early adoption of an appropriate research methodology will thus relate a solid foundation for the takeoff of the center.
“My personal aspiration is that this center will one day become the service institution of the highest reputation,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the orientation programme involved two lectures and discussions by erudite scholars and top military officers.
The Coordinator, Admiralty University of Nigeria, retired Commodore Amatere Kpou, delivered a lecture titled, “Formulating and Designing Appropriate Research Methodology for the Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre From Colonial Occupation to a National Force: The Nigerian Army’s Past Experience, Present Reality and Future Prospects”.
The second presentation was titled, “Working Out Effective Synergy and the Collaboration between ‘A’ Team and Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre.
The guest lecturer, Kpou, said the lecture was aimed at building the capacity of the centre to be able to evolve and develop credible methodologies in terms of its procedures, protocols and objectives.
He said that there were various research methodologies such as the scientific method, adding that the center could and should adopt the scientific procedure in all its undertakings in achieving its objective that had been set by the Nigerian army.
He said that the center should conduct its research towards providing solutions to identified problems of defence, the military and security in Nigeria.
“We are advocating that they could pay particular attention to applied research, result driven research, result oriented research, not just research for research sake,” he said. (NAN)
