President Bola Tinubu, expressed the confidence that the Nigerian armed forces, going by the quality and standards of their training, are capable of bringing all the current threats and criminalities being witnessed to an end.
President Tinubu, who expressed the confidence at an event marking the Diamond Jubilee of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna, also charged the forces not to relent in the duty of safeguarding the territorial integrity of Nigeria, against all threats.
According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the President also commended the forces for their dedication to duty and sacrifices for the nation, even as he assured them of his administration’s commitment to their welfare, as well as unflagging support in the discharge of their duties.
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.
Before obtaining independence from Britain, Nigeria’s first set of officers were trained in Ghana and subsequently at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England. But by January 1964, four years after independence, the first batch of 64 army and navy cadets commenced training at the NDA.
President Tinubu highlighted some of the milestones recorded during the transformation of the NDA including 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 accented 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.
