The newly commissioned Nigerian
The newly commissioned Nigerian Air Force (NAF) officers of the
Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Regular Course 66 have been charged
to be diligent, committed and resolute in the discharge of their
military duties and responsibilities to the Nation. The charge was
given today, 7 October 2019, by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS),
General Abayomi Olonisakin, who represented the President,
Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Armed Forces of Nigeria,
Muhammadu Buhari, as the Special Guest of Honour (SGOH) at the
commissioning/pipping and oath taking ceremony of the 111
graduating NAF cadets at the NAF Base, Kaduna.
Congratulating the NAF cadets, who were commissioned into the
rank of Pilot Officer, the SGOH reminded them of the challenging
but rewarding nature of the military career, noting that with the
quality of training they had received, they would be able to cope
with the demanding tasks ahead. While challenging them to brace up
for the rigours of military service, the CDS reminded the young
officers that they were being commissioned at a time when the
country is tackling various security challenges such as terrorism,
insurgency, kidnapping, armed banditry, communal clashes, cultism,
militancy as well as herdsmen-farmers clashes. “Let me emphasize
that the Armed Forces of Nigeria has recorded tremendous progress
in degrading the capacity of Boko Haram terrorists thereby ensuring
the territorial integrity of the Country. In this regard, the
ambitions of our detractors to destabilize the Country have been
dismantled, even though they continue to instill fear among the
civil populace by attacking soft targets, carrying out hit and run
attacks on isolated military formations and utilizing social media
propaganda to disseminate fake news”, the CDS said.
Furthermore, the SGOH reminded the newly commissioned officers
that, as young commanders, they would be entrusted with the
responsibility of human and material resource management and would
therefore be required to remain fair and mindful of their
integrity. He equally urged them to imbibe and uphold the ethics of
the military profession which include discipline, loyalty and hard
work “You should also be firm and resolute in ensuring that the
right things are done while eschewing what is wrong. You have to be
frank in dealing with all situations with truthfulness and honesty
and must work assiduously towards achieving organizational goals,”
he added.
The SGOH commended the NAF for working assiduously to checkmate
the security challenges facing the Nation. He noted with emphasis
the efforts of NAF pilots who have continued to bomb centres of
gravity and hideouts of insurgents and criminal elements. He stated
that it was on record that over the past 4 years, the NAF has
continued to reactivate grounded aircraft and induct new platforms
while still adequately meeting the administrative and welfare needs
of its personnel. More commendable, according to him, is the fact
that the achievements were recorded with limited resources
available to the NAF. While congratulating officers who
distinguished themselves during the Course, the CDS charged award
winners to see the awards as an incentive towards excellence and
enhancing their confidence towards effective service delivery. For
the rest, who did not win any award, the CDS encouraged them not to
despair noting that they had fought a good fight having completed
the Course with acceptable grades. Concerning the use of the social
media for propanganda by criminal elements, the SGOH tasked the
newly commissioned officers to acquire in-depth knowledge of how to
apply social and digital media to win the war, alongside use of
sophisticated weapons.
Speaking further, the CDS commended the Chief of the Air Staff
(CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, for providing inspirational
leadership for the NAF. The recent induction of new platforms and
re-activation of long grounded aircraft, the CDS noted, is a
confirmation of the CAS purposeful leadership. The SGOH equally
commended the Air Officer Commanding Ground Training Command as
well as the Commandant and staff of the Military Training Centre
(MTC), imploring them to continually strive to devise ways of
improving the quality of training. He added that the Federal
Government would continue to give priority attention to the
operational requirements and the welfare of the personnel of the
Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Highlights of the commissioning ceremony included the
presentation of NDA rings and conferment of Presidential Commission
on the officers as well as the unveiling of ranks of the newly
commissioned officers by their family members and friends. The SGOH
also administered the Oath of Allegiance and presented Presidential
Parchment of Commission to all the 111 new Pilot Officers, which
included 7 female officers. Awards were also presented to officers
who distinguished themselves on the course, with Flight Cadet (now
Pilot Officer) Ja’afar Abdulkadir clinching the C-in-C’s award for
emerging as overall best graduating cadet. Dignitaries at the event
included the representatives of the Executive Governor of Kaduna
Sate, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Defence, Chiefs of Army and
Naval Staff as well as the Emir of Zaria. The Deputy Speaker Kaduna
State House of Assembly, Emir of Kuje, the Commandant NDA and
Commandants of other Tri-Service and NAF institutions, along with
many serving and retired senior military officers, were also in
attendance.
It is pertinent to note that under the current arrangement, NAF
Regular cadets spend their final year of training at the MTC and
are given basic specialist training in their various allotted Air
Force Specialties. This is to prepare them for prompt deployment,
upon commissioning, to serve in various capacities commensurate to
the training they have received. As part of activities marking the
graduation and commissioning ceremonies of the Air Force cadets, a
Regimental Dinner Night was earlier held in their honour on 2
October 2019, where the CAS, represented by the Chief of Policy and
Plans, Headquarters NAF, Air Vice Marshal Napoleon Bali, advised
the graduating cadets to provide cost effective solutions to
enhance self-reliance in their various areas of expertise. He also
urged the graduating cadets to show good example both in conduct
and character by abiding by NAF’s core values of ‘Integrity first’,
‘Service before Self’ and ‘Excellence in all we do’.
IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force