The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, has advocated for a curriculum overhaul of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) that reflects contemporary security challenges, with an emphasis on night training, physical fitness, artificial intelligence, and other emerging warfare domains.
Lt.-Gen. Shaibu said these measures would ensure that young officers are fully attuned to the realities of modern battlefields and equipped with the warrior ethos and battle-oriented leadership skills required to drive his command philosophy.
The COAS philosophy states, “To advance the transformation of the Nigerian army into a more professional, adaptable, combat-ready and resilient force capable of decisively discharging its constitutional responsibilities within a joint and multi-agency environment.”
The COAS gave the charge when the Commandant of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), Major General Oluyemi Olatoye, paid him a courtesy visit at the Army Headquarters in Abuja, on Tuesday.
In a statement by the Director of Army Public Relations, Lt.-Col. Appolonia Anele, the Army chief, charged the Commandant to intensify cadet training, driven by purposeful leadership, discipline, character, courage, and strategic thinking, in order to bridge gaps in military operations.
Lt.-Gen. Shaibu highlighted the need to strengthen research centres, particularly the NDA Department of Military Science, as a strategic step towards boosting the National Defence Industry and enhancing indigenous capacity for military innovation and self-reliance.
He further emphasised that a robust research framework would provide the intellectual foundation necessary for a modern, responsive, and technologically advanced fighting force.
Shaibu also pledged his full support to the Commandant in achieving these objectives, reaffirming his commitment to ensuring that the NDA produces officers who are strategically sound, operationally competent, and fully prepared to meet the nation’s evolving security demands.
In his remarks, Major General Olatoye congratulated the COAS on his appointment by President Bola Tinubu and expressed profound gratitude to the leadership of the military for the confidence reposed in him to lead the nation’s premier military training institution.
He described the NDA as the “training factory” for future officers of the Armed Forces.
The Commandant assured that he would build on the legacies and structures established by his predecessors while soliciting sustained support from the COAS to effectively realise the vision and mission of producing competent, disciplined and professional officers capable of safeguarding Nigeria’s security interests.
