Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd) has pledged the federal government’s continued support to the Armed Forces and indeed all security agencies in tackling security challenges in the country.
The Minister who stated this at the graduation ceremony of Air Force War College Course 6/2020 in Makurdi, said the changing nature of warfare poses new challenges to security forces even as sub-conventional threats have continued to rise creating a significantly more complex strategic environment, both at the global and regional levels.
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He said the nature of these challenges makes it necessary to be innovative and explore contemporary ways and means to tackle them.
“Invariably, doctrinal development, force structure, planning and equipment provisioning for asymmetric warfare has become much more challenging problems than what is obtainable in a conventional war.
“To this end, I must commend the efforts of the Nigerian Air Force for rejigging its force structure to address the widely dispersed challenges, while at the same time, exploring local contents and resources to address equipment maintenance through research and development,” he added.
Retired Major General Magashi who further stressed the president’s support for security agencies, charged personnel of Nigerian Air Force, particularly the graduands, to strive harder for excellence in the discharge of their duties.
Represented by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, Magashi said the charge has become particularly important as their calling demands integrity, dedication, loyalty and a high standard of discipline in the discharge of their duties.
“Indeed, you have demonstrated all these qualities to a commendable extent, so I can only urge you not to rest on your oars. Please be rest assured that the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, will continue to do its best to sustain the current support to the Armed Forces,” he said.
Earlier, Commandant of the Air War College, AVM Dalhak Ladan, noted that the four year old institution has continued to play crucial roles in the development of manpower across the arms of the armed forces.
Ladan disclosed that the 17 graduating participants of the college have been adequately prepared for a joint operation and comprises of Air Force, Navy and Army personnel.
