The Chief of Army Staff( COAS) Lieutenant General TA Lagbaja has charged Commandants of the Nigerian Army Training Schools to remain focused in the discharge of their Mandate to implement policy on Doctrine and Training designed to enhance Operational Effectiveness of the Nigerian Army(NA).
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.General Lagbaja who was Special Guest of Honour stated this in a message to the opening ceremony of the 2024 Training and Doctrine Command Conference held at the TRADOC N A Headquarters Minna, Niger State.
A statement by Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba , Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations stated that COAS spoke through the Chief of Training(COT), Nigerian Army Headquarters, Major General Sani Gambo Mohammed who represented him on Tuesday 9th January 2024 when he declared the Conference open.
He described the theme of the conference which is “Enhancing Operational Effectiveness in a Joint Environment Through Tailor -Made Training ” as very apt considering the security challenges the country is currently facing.
The Chief of Army Staff added that the theme was carefully chosen with particular emphasis on jointness in line with his Command philosophy which is “To transform the Nigerian Army into a well -trained , equipped and highly motivated force towards achieving our constitutional responsibilities Within a Joint Environment”.
He therefore reiterated the need for the participants who are the Commandants of Nigerian Army Training Schools and Field Commanders to apply tailor- made approach to training and develop capacity and resourcefulness of the NA personnel to swiftly respond to any security infractions across the theatre of operations in the country.
General Lagbaja maintained that the Nigerian Army will continue to plan, train, and execute various military operations in line with its extant Doctrine 22 which is codified as Proactive Responsive Doctrine .
He urged participants to take full advantage of the conference to cross- fertilize ideas through robust interactions and active participations in all deliberations towards enhanced operational effectiveness.
He thanked the President and Commander -in- Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Senator Bola Tinubu for his support to the Nigerian Army. The COAS also thanked the Honourable Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa for providing excellent guidance and support to the Nigerian Army.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chief Host and Commander TRADOC NA , Major General Kevin Aligbe described the conference as a strategic platform for robust interaction and brainstorming among the participants.
Major General Aligbe emphasized that the tailor made approach to training is to develop capacity to respond to the multi-faceted security challenges bewildering the nation adding that Doctrine development stipulates how Army is organised and trained to fights.
He therefore called for stronger collaboration and cooperation among security Agencies in the ongoing fight against the adversaries.
The conference which attracted one hundred and twenty Commandants and Field Commanders drawn from the various Nigerian Army Schools featured presentation of papers by carefully selected eminent resource persons which include the Force Commander , Multi National Joint Task Force, Major General SI Alli and the inventor of Ezugwu MRAP, Major General Victor Ezugwu(rtd) among several others .
The TRADOC NA Doctrine and Training Conference 2024 ended on Thursday 12th as the Commander TRADOC Nigerian Army, Major General Kevin Aligbe thanked the Chief of Army Staff for providing enabling environment for the conduct of the conference and urged the participants to effectively deploy the knowledge gained from the conference towards making a difference in their Areas of Responsibility.
Highpoints of the closing ceremony of the conference was the presentation of Souvenirs to the SGOH, resource persons and dignitaries.
The climax was the cocktail party in honour of the participants held at the TRADOC NA officers’ Mess in Minna Military Cantonment.