Ihejirika Charges NDA Cadets On Respect To Civil Authority

A former Chief of Army Staff retired Lt-Gen. Azubike Ihejirika, has charged cadets of 68 Regular Course of Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) to be submissive to civil authority after their commissioning.

Ihejirika made the charge at the NDA award ceremony and beating of the retreat for the cadets, on Tuesday in Kaduna.

The dual ceremony is an old tradition of the NDA, as part of activities to mark the end of successful training for cadets.

Ihejirika noted that the nation has been investing a lot in shaping the cadets’ character, providing them quality military training and a sound academic foundation.

“In discharging your duties after commissioning into the tri-services, always place the country first above all other interests, always uphold your constitutional roles and subordination to civil authority”, he said.

The ex-Army chief further urged the cadets to be good leaders after commissioning and uphold the standards in the management of both human and material resources that would be entrusted in their care.

He congratulated the graduating cadets for the journey so far and wished them a successful career in the defence of their fatherland upon their commission as officers.

He commended the Commandant of the academy, staff, and instructors for their combined efforts in training the cadets, urging them not to relent.

Earlier, Commandant of the NDA, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Yusuf reiterated that the reward of hard work through the presentation of awards encouraged excellence and optimized performance by individuals and units in the armed forces.

According to him, the awards and trophies were intended to encourage the recipients and challenge those who did not get awards to intensify their efforts in the upcoming training year.

“While congratulating the champion battalion as well as individual cadets who received various awards, I want to remind you that getting to the top is difficult but sustaining an achievement is even more demanding.

“I wish to remind you that even at this late hour; the road to your commissioning is still narrow and the journey is far.

“With discipline, however, you will get there, just remain level-headed and focused”, he said.

A total of 779 officer cadets from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) comprising of 287 cadets of 67 Regular Course and 492 cadets of Short Service Course 46 passed out from the Academy and were commissioned accordingly.

President Muhammadu Buhari who was the reviewing officer had accordingly tasked the newly commissioned officer cadets to contribute their quota in the ongoing war against the Boko Haram insurgents, bandits and other criminal elements that are threatening the peace and security of the country.

Addressing the graduating officer cadets, President Buhari gave assurances of the Federal Government’s commitment to end the myriads of security challenges confronting the nation and improving the welfare of serving and retired military officers who laid down their lives for the security and peace of their fatherland.

He noted that despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Academy has remained focused and committed to its core mandate of training officer cadets.  I therefore, commend the Nigerian Defense Academy Council for its steadfast performance.

The Nigerian Defense Academy has since its establishment in 1964 continued to train young Nigerians for the Armed Forces to discharge their role of protecting the territorial sovereignty of the nation.

“I have been made to understand that the Academy in furtherance to enriching its training curriculum recently took cadets on a tour of frontline communities in the North East Theater of operations.  The tour was to keep the cadets informed of the challenges of real battle scenario and to boost their combat readiness.

“As a retired General, I can say with all sense of responsibility that, I am encouraged by the excellent work invested in the training of these officer cadets for service to this great nation and humanity in general.

“We remain focused in the fight against insurgency, armed banditry and other forms of criminality across the nation. We remain committed to ending the security challenges bedeviling the country.  I am confident that the training received by the passing out cadets has adequately equipped them to face any challenges in their line of duty” he stated.

The President disclosed that the broad contexts to which these prospective officers will be deployed is complex, fluid and dynamic and urged the officers to keep pace with these ever changing challenges.

Officer Cadets, a successful completion of a rigorous and demanding task of this nature undoubtedly infuses you with a sense of self-esteem, efficacy and accomplishment. it lifts your spirit and leaves you with conviction that with commitment and dedication you would successfully accomplish future tasks that will come your way as officers of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

He called on the officer cadets on the need to be committed to the nation by taking their rightful place among their peers in the Armed Forces of our country.

“This is so, specifically coming at a time of great need for cohesion, peace and unity in our country. I must commend the resilience and steadfastness of our personnel in the Armed Forces for their professionalism and bravery in tackling the menace of terrorism, insurgency and armed banditry in the North East and North West zones as well as herders/farmers conflict, kidnapping, piracy and communal clashes in other parts of our country.

“All these accomplishments in our national security have been made possible by the untiring efforts of our military and other security agencies.  Soon you will join your senior colleagues in the field and you will be expected to contribute your part in the defence of your country.

“With the quality of training you have received, I am convinced that you will discharge your duties professionally and responsibly.  I can say without ambiguity that the future holds promise for our national defence and security.

“The loyalty and patriotism displayed by our service personnel must be sustained and strengthened.  To my other compatriots, I want to use this forum to appeal to our sense of patriotism.

“Despite our obvious differences, we must strive to ensure that our actions, and utterances are aimed towards strengthening our democratic framework. We must subsume our personal and sectional interests to the overall national aspirations of unity, economic prosperity and good governance”.

It should be recalled that in October 2020, a total of 779 officer cadets from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) comprising of 287 cadets of 67 Regular Course and 492 cadets of Short Service Course 46 passed out from the Academy and were commissioned accordingly.

President Muhammadu Buhari who was the reviewing officer had accordingly tasked the newly commissioned officer cadets to contribute their quota in the ongoing war against the Boko Haram insurgents, bandits and other criminal elements that are threatening the peace and security of the country.

Addressing the graduating officer cadets, President Buhari gave assurances of the Federal Government’s commitment to end the myriads of security challenges confronting the nation and improving the welfare of serving and retired military officers who laid down their lives for the security and peace of their fatherland.

He noted that despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Academy has remained focused and committed to its core mandate of training officer cadets.  I therefore, commend the Nigerian Defense Academy Council for its steadfast performance.

The Nigerian Defense Academy has since its establishment in 1964 continued to train young Nigerians for the Armed Forces to discharge their role of protecting the territorial sovereignty of the nation.

“I have been made to understand that the Academy in furtherance to enriching its training curriculum recently took cadets on a tour of frontline communities in the North East Theater of operations.  The tour was to keep the cadets informed of the challenges of real battle scenario and to boost their combat readiness.

“As a retired General, I can say with all sense of responsibility that, I am encouraged by the excellent work invested in the training of these officer cadets for service to this great nation and humanity in general.

“We remain focused in the fight against insurgency, armed banditry and other forms of criminality across the nation. We remain committed to ending the security challenges bedeviling the country.  I am confident that the training received by the passing out cadets has adequately equipped them to face any challenges in their line of duty” he stated.

The President disclosed that the broad contexts to which these prospective officers will be deployed is complex, fluid and dynamic and urged the officers to keep pace with these ever changing challenges.

Officer Cadets, a successful completion of a rigorous and demanding task of this nature undoubtedly infuses you with a sense of self-esteem, efficacy and accomplishment. it lifts your spirit and leaves you with conviction that with commitment and dedication you would successfully accomplish future tasks that will come your way as officers of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

He called on the officer cadets on the need to be committed to the nation by taking their rightful place among their peers in the Armed Forces of our country.

“This is so, specifically coming at a time of great need for cohesion, peace and unity in our country. I must commend the resilience and steadfastness of our personnel in the Armed Forces for their professionalism and bravery in tackling the menace of terrorism, insurgency and armed banditry in the North East and North West zones as well as herders/farmers conflict, kidnapping, piracy and communal clashes in other parts of our country.

“All these accomplishments in our national security have been made possible by the untiring efforts of our military and other security agencies.  Soon you will join your senior colleagues in the field and you will be expected to contribute your part in the defence of your country.

“With the quality of training you have received, I am convinced that you will discharge your duties professionally and responsibly.  I can say without ambiguity that the future holds promise for our national defence and security.

“The loyalty and patriotism displayed by our service personnel must be sustained and strengthened.  To my other compatriots, I want to use this forum to appeal to our sense of patriotism.

“Despite our obvious differences, we must strive to ensure that our actions, and utterances are aimed towards strengthening our democratic framework. We must subsume our personal and sectional interests to the overall national aspirations of unity, economic prosperity and good governance”.

thisnigeria.com