In a commitment to bolster the capabilities of the Nigerian military, President Bola Tinubu, represented by Defense Minister Alhaji Mohammed Badaru, pledged to utilize his constitutional powers to ensure the military is well-equipped and prepared to fulfill its constitutional mandate of safeguarding the nation. This announcement was made during the graduation ceremony of participants from the National Defense College (NDC) Course 31, held in Abuja on Friday.
President Tinubu praised the Armed Forces of Nigeria as one of the nation’s most esteemed institutions and assured that the government would consistently recognize the dedication and patriotism of the military’s brave men and women.
He commended the commandant and management team of the college for their diligent efforts in nurturing a group of strategic leaders for the armed forces, various government ministries, departments, agencies, and even representatives from allied countries in the course.
The president acknowledged the college’s track record of producing intellectually adept, courageous, patriotic, and morally upright military and civilian leaders.
He noted that the college’s approach of fostering comprehensive knowledge across diverse thematic areas had contributed to identifying sustainable solutions not only to Nigeria’s security and development challenges but also extending its impact across Africa and beyond.
President Tinubu expressed his confidence that the graduates of Course 31 would effectively apply the knowledge, expertise, and skills they acquired during the program to tackle the current and emerging security and developmental issues facing the nation.
This commitment to empowering the Nigerian military stands as a testament to the government’s dedication to ensuring the country’s security and prosperity.
“Our dear country is faced with the flora of challenges including insecurity, social economic hiccups, climate change and migratory issues, ‘the so-called Japa syndrome’.
“We are confronted by systematic corruption, crude oil theft, reduce national productivity, weak infrastructure, weak revenue base, rising domestic and external debt among others.
“Those challenges demand creative and purposeful driving leadership to mitigate.
“Since coming into office, I have rolled up my sleeves myself to confront and address them frontally and we shall overcome with the special grace of God.
“I must admit that those challenges will require the deployment of knowledge and insight you have acquired from this college,” he said.
The president said he had taken some essential policy steps such as removal of oil subsidy and liberalisation of foreign exchange rate among others, to reposition the Nigerian economy for prosperity and inclusive growth.
He added that he rejigged the leadership of the armed forces and police among others to usher in fresh perspective to dealing with the security challenges, urging the participants to go back to their respective services and agencies and align with the visions of the new leadership.
Tinubu said the world was currently faced with myriads of threats such as the disruptive effect of emerging technologies, cyber threats, unconstitutional change of government in African sub-region.
He urged the military to help the governments to build resilience against the recent spate of the democratic recession in West Africa and building stronger assistance and mitigation to all the challenges.
“I am banking on you to provide creative leadership solutions towards addressing those national, regional and global challenges,” he added.
The president also pledged to ensure the completion of the college’s permanent site before the end of his first term to enable the college to conveniently transmute into a full-fledged Defence University.
