By Mohammad Tijjani
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division Nigerian Army Jos, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, has charged cadets of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) to add value to the ongoing fight against insecurity in the country.
Abubakar gave the charge during Battle Inoculation phase of exercise Camp Highland for graduating cadets of the NDA.
The cadets comprised 70 Regular Course, Army and Air Force, and Direct Short Service Courses 27 and 31, Army and Air Force, respectively.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that battle inoculation is the final field training excercise for the graduating cadets.
It is the simulation of live battle scenarios aimed at exposing the cadets to the sights and sounds of battlefields.
Abubakar who is also the Commander of Operation Safe Haven, said that the military has been battling insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, militancy and violent agitations across the country.
“The Nigerian Armed Forces, in collaboration with other security agencies, has the constitutional mandate to combat these threats to national security.”
The GOC therefore said that the cadets must fall in line with the leadership concept of the Chief of Defence Staff, by being people centric and capable of meeting responsibilities in joint and collaborative environment.
“The Nigerian Defence Academy has provided you with all the prowess that would enable you fit into this leadership concept,” he said.
Abubakar said that the exercise was to give the cadets the foresight to go into the field as subalterns occupying junior leadership positions in various theatres of operations.
He charged them to be prepared to be drafted at short notice to perform difficult and sometimes dangerous operations in aid of civil authority.
The GOC said the cadets must master their tactics, techniques and procedures, and maintain physical fitness, mental alertness and stamina at all times.
“You must continue to indulge yourselves in activities that will enable you further develop and maintain the desired cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength and flexibility to withstand the rigours of military operations,” he added.
The GOC also charged them to remain focused, disciplined and level headed.
He thanked the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs for their strategic direction to the Armed Forces, and outstanding support to all training schools, including the NDA. (NAN)
