The Commandant of the Nigerian Navy War College, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Ahmed, Jas said the Navy and other sister security agencies are jointly confronting the emerging security challenges in the country.
He, however, noted that the emerging security challenges such as terrorism, banditry, cultism and Kidnapping amongst others, have agreed to expand the responsibilities of the Nigerian Navy beyond its traditional roles.
The Commandant stated this at the inauguration ceremony and inaugural lecture of the Naval Warfare Course 8 in Calabar over the weekend.
He noted that this is aside the increasing sophistication of maritime security challenges such as piracy, armed robbery against ships and crude oil theft.
He said these security challenges which, are mostly asymmetric in nature, placed increasing demands on the nation’s resources and response capability that have necessitated the need to continually develop the professional ability of command level officers.
According to him, for the Naval Warfare Course 8, a robust curriculum which includes fifth generation warfare has been developed to sharpen the skills and aptitude of the participants.
“Additionally, the inaugural lecture and the robust will give participants a solid foundation as they journey into the operational level of warfare.
“The College remained poised to producing military strategists, operation planners and war-fighters who can compete effectively with their contemporaries globally.
The Commandant said a total of 24 participants from the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, and from the Ghana and Guinea-Bissau Navy, will participate in the Naval Warfare Course 8.
The Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Olusola Oluwagbire, said the College was established to develop the critical competences of officers for effective command, managerial and leadership roles at the operational level of warfare.
He said the topic of the lecture, “Operational Level Warfare: Imperatives For Training and Command In The Nigerian Navy” in view of the dynamics in global security challenges.
“It is very important to get the basics of training and command right in order to establish the operational objectives needed to achieve the strategic end state.
“To the participants and our future operational level commanders, it is your responsibility to understand the fast changing complexities of the contemporary security environment in the world generally and in Nigeria in particular.
“You must then situate the Armed Forces within these changes and ask yourself, How do I best function in the face of these challenges?
“This is where the Naval Warfare Course suffices to equip you with the necessary skills needed to plan critically analyse complex security situations, develop robust fail-proof plans and execute them to achieve the strategic directives you will be given from time to time,” he stated.
Speaking on the lecture topic, Rear Admiral Murtala Bashir (rtd), called for the optimisation of the operational level of Naval Warfare training.
“With this and the operational level commanders in the Nigerian Navy fully imbibing the appropriate characteristics and understanding of their responsibilities, the service will have a crop of professional officers that will adequately translate strategic directives into precise tactical actions.
“The officers will also be apolitical and more responsive to national security priorities. They will be more efficient in the alignment and use of resources, uphold the law and respect human rights, thereby earning public trust, respect and confidence,” he stated
