The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya has reiterated the readiness of the Nigerian Army to promote joint planning and operations among the services in addressing the nation’s prevailing security challenges.
Faruk, who was represented by the Chief of Training (Army), Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalami Ibrahim stated this at the Second Symposium on Nigerian Civil War organised by Army War College Nigeria (AWCN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
The symposium with the theme, “Imperative of Logistics: Lessons from the Nigerian Civil War for Operational Leaders”, was organised for AWCN Course 5/2021.
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The COAS said that the college would participate in a joint operations planning exercise within Naval and Air Force war colleges, beginning with Course 5.
He said that the move was an indication that the college was conscientiously positioning itself to play a significant role in attaining his vision.
“To this extent, let me stress that contemporary warfighting will remain joint and is not likely to change in the foreseeable future.
“Hence, any joint effort directed at preparing operational level officers to be aligned to this reality is commendable.
“I do not doubt in my mind that on successful completion of this training, you would be better able to appreciate the complexity of the contemporary security environment.
“It is expected, therefore, that you should have been well equipped to proffer workable solutions to multi-faceted security problems of the 21st century,” he said.
Yahaya said that the symposium’s theme was apt given the importance of logistics in the prosecution of the war, especially in the procurement of weapons and ammunition as well as sourcing of equipment and material required.
According to him, logistics support is vital for any military operation without which the operations could not be carried out and sustained.
He commended the college for the progress made so far, saying that at the end of Course 5, the college would have trained a record number of 294 officers within a period of four years.
The commandant of the college, Maj.-Gen. Solomon Udounwa said the course had 63 participants from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and Air Force, and other security agencies and allied countries of the Republic of Niger, Liberia, Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Odounwa said the symposium was conceptualised as part of the academic curriculum of the war course and part of the military history module to enhance the operational capability of the participants.
According to him, the essence is to study and teach the operational activities of the war for a better understanding of the battlefield events and better outcome towards requiring them to combat threats to national security.
“While the maiden edition focused on the Calabar landing by the third marine commando during the events of 1967 and 1968 respectively, today’s event will examine the conduct of logistics during the war,” he said.
The guest lecturer, Prof. Shedrack Best, who spoke on the symposium’s theme, said that logistics was the lifeblood of military power in every war and armed confrontation.
Best said that logistics concerned the military needs and supply chain to the battlefield and the war objectives, which drove and sustained the troops.
“Logistics is an important and critical part of any military operation because the size of logistics impacts greatly on the war,” he said.
The scholar said that logistics challenges had a serious impact on the ongoing military campaign against insurgency in the North East and banditry in the North West, among other operations.
He said that the military must be able to move troops in and out of the battlefronts, give food to the troops, and medical services and funds for troops welfare. (NAN)
