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Don’t Relent In Protecting Nigeria, Tinubu Charges Armed Forces

Published

9 months ago

Feb 11, 2024.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that President Bola Tinubu has charged the Armed Forces to continue to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity against all threats, commending them for their dedication to duty and sacrifices for the nation.

The President, while speaking at an event marking the Diamond Jubilee of the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna on Saturday, assured the military of his administration’s commitment to its welfare, as well as unflagging support in the discharge of its duties.

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The NDA was established about six decades ago, on February 5, 1964.

The institution has undergone various stages of transformation in its quest to fulfill its mandate of training officers for the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Tinubu highlighted some of the milestones recorded during the transformation of the NDA to include the subsequent addition and training of Air Force cadets, the successful reunification of the country after the Civil War in 1967 as well as the various short-service military training programmes instituted to fill the manpower needs caused by the Civil War.

Other noteworthy achievements, he added, include the upgrade of the NDA from a non-degree awarding institution to a full-fledged degree-awarding university in 1985, thereby phasing out the Nigerian Defence Academy Certificate of Education hitherto awarded to cadets.

“The government is also pleased to note that the curriculum approved by the National Universities Commission, the regulatory body is sufficiently robust and broad-based to enable the cadets to acquire the knowledge, skills, values, character, and discipline required for effective and efficient service in the Nigerian Armed forces in peace times and in times of crises.

“I understand that other giants’ strides recorded in the NDA include the establishment of post-graduate programs, the creation of research centres and centres of excellence to facilitate research and enable cross fertilization of ideas.

“The consistent academic calendar devoid of industrial disputes and strikes should make the NDA postgraduate school an institution of first choice not only for Nigerian students but also for students across the globe.

“I therefore charge the academic staff both military and nonmilitary to transform the NDA into ‘Nigeria’s Silicon Valley,’ a hub for startups where ideas are not only incubated but also actualized,” the President said.

Tinubu, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, commended the past and present leadership of the NDA for the quality of military and academic training, which has continued to attract clientele from other African nations.