The Commander Corps of Signals of the Nigerian Army (NA) Maj.-Gen. Abiodun Owolabi, says that military leaders need to be equipped with the requisite skills to effectively cope with the dynamics of military operations.
Owolabi said this at the ongoing Nigerian Army Leadership Development Seminar 2022 with the theme: “Leadership Excellence In Chaos and Crises.”
The week-long seminar which started on May 23 and expected to end on May 27 is holding at the Nigerian Army Cantonment, Arakan Barracks, Apapa in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seminar was designed specifically for lieutenant colonels and colonels because of the important roles the cadres used to play in decision making and in the administration of the NA.
The commander said that the choice of the theme captured the essence of the vision of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya for the Nigerian Army.
He said, “The COAS’s vision is to have `A Professional Nigerian Army Ready to Accomplish Assigned Mission within a Joint Environment in Defence of Nigeria’.
“In view of this, the NA will continue to strive to develop doctrines and upgrade equipment to enhance its responsiveness to the changing nature of warfare.
“Thus, having commanders with effective leadership skills and digital orientation are imperative to enhance operational effectiveness of the Nigerian Army toward defeating adversaries in all environments,” he said.
Owolabi said that military operations in contemporary times had become more complex because of the changes in the nature of threats and advancement in technology.
“The battle space cuts across terrestrial and cyber domains with the employment of digital infrastructure and platforms which are constantly being updated.
“This suggests the importance of leaders with requisite skills at various levels of command to effectively cope with the dynamics of their operating environments,” he said.
The commander charged the participants to embrace propensity for changes and adaptive leadership styles as well as vision for organisational excellence to succeed in their commands.
The commander quoted John Quincy Adams to buttress his statement, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
“With this, you are expected to add value to the system and influence your colleagues to achieve expected and acceptable results.
“It is my belief that this seminar has equipped you with the right skills, values and orientation that will aid you in effective decision making process,” Owolabi said.
The Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration (NASFA), Brig.-Gen. Felix Ohunyeye, said that the seminar was a reaffirmation of the importance the NA places on capacity building and career progression of its personnel.
“The seminar is designed to enhance and sharpen your knowledge, skills and competence in discharging your constitutional responsibilities.
“I urge you to remain resolute and apply the various lessons you had learnt to contribute more meaningfully to the overall efforts of the Nigerian Army.
“This will help it to achieve a speedy defeat of insurgency and other criminalities currently bedeviling the nation,” Ohunyeye said.
Also speaking, the course senior of the seminar, Col. Mohammed Abba said that a lot was learnt to better reposition the NA for effective delivery of its operations.
“Some of the lessons learnt are: the need for leaders to seek knowledge and develop good communication skills to interact with their subordinates effectively.
“Also, we learnt how we can understand when to adopt critical thinking to ensure operational effectiveness and efficiency in the NA.
“Also, the need to assess and evaluate risk levels before confronting situations to eliminate or significantly minimise effects of the unforeseen among others,” he said.
Abba said that effective communication was important because it would always help a leader to convey his vision to his subordinates with a view to motivating and influencing them toward a common goal.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief of Army Staff had recently harped on training and retraining of all Army personnel as part of his vision during the convention of Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSM) in Lagos.
Then, he was quoted to have said that training was meant to improve troops’ commitment and efficiency in their operations to restore peace and stability in troubled parts of the country.
He stated that already, the Nigerian Army personnel had begun to record successes in their operations based on the training they had undergone.
The convention took place at Nebo hall, headquarters of the Nigeria Army Ordnance Corps, Abalti Barracks, Ojuelegba in Lagos. (NAN)
