By Evelyn Usman

Three hundred and fifty retiring personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces comprising 336 men and 14 women have completed a 12- week training on entrepreneur and vocational skills acquisition at the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, NAFRC Oshodi, Lagos, aimed at preparing them for re-integration into civilian life.

Although 375 of them were admitted to the Centrre, two of them: from the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Navy died, while 17 of them were returned on medical grounds.

Five others, from the Nigerian Air Force were sponsored for private training in the United Kingdom.

Speaking at the Passing Out Ceremony of Trainees Course 2/2021, held at the Buhari hall, NAFRC, Chief of the Air Staff who was the special guest of honour, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao , noted that since inception of the centre 40 years ago, it had creditably pursued its mandate to consistently provide quality training, engage in research and development, as well as render consultancy services geared towards adequately preparing retiring Service personnel to face the challenges of re-integrating into civil life.

Describing the occasion as a milestone achievement in the careers of the graduating trainees, he noted that they had an added advantage, having acquired entrepreneurial and managerial skills to lead successful lives in retirement, and having been exposed to what he described as world-class vocational education as well as general entrepreneurship and managerial procedures.

The CAS said, “The contemporary global economic and national security climate is dynamic and presents peculiar challenges for post-service life now and in the foreseeable future. Bearing this in mind, I enjoin the graduating trainees to leverage on all the knowledge, skills and expertise acquired over the last 12 weeks.

“Remember that no knowledge is a waste! There is no doubt that alongside entrepreneurial training and vocational skills acquisition, the virtues of discipline, integrity and patriotism which are fundamental to our national and defense development, have been reinforced throughout every phase of your course in this institution and during your respective Service lives.

I therefore encourage them all to harness the skills and expertise obtained during their training to lead productive lives that will engender societal progress and national socio-economic development.

“As our beloved nation continues to be confronted with multifaceted threats, the sustenance of quality training for retiring personnel in vocational, entrepreneurship and managerial skills remains a viable tool for a productive post-service life.

Accordingly, the Defence and Services headquarters have continued to prioritize the training needs of the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre to ensure that our retiring personnel are well equipped to face the challenges of life in retirement and reintegrate successfully into civil life”.

The CAS disclosed that in spite of operational exigencies and budgetary constraints, the Nigerian Air Force under his leadership had recorded modest achievements in pursuit of purposeful training and human capacity development, which he described as a critical driver of his vision and in tandem with the mandate and objectives of the Centre.

He informed that “ the Nigerian Air Force, in synergy with other Sister Services, continues to work assiduously to restore peace and security nationwide as this is a prerequisite for any meaningful socio economic development.

Indeed, the entire Armed Forces in general remains committed to this end state, working in concert with other security agencies. This and other such initiatives driven by the Federal Government are aimed at effectively countering the nefarious activities of criminal elements and restoring social and economic activities nationwide”.

He further reminded the graduating trainees that as distinguished veterans of the Nigerian Armed Forces who had contributed immensely to national development and security, their individual communities and indeed the entire nation would demand a higher level of loyalty, discipline, moral courage and patriotism.

He expressed optimism that they would rise up to the challenge and project the Armed Forces of Nigeria in good light by their conducts and interactions in their respective domiciles.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Commandant, NAFRC, Air Vice Marshal Adamu Idris, explained that in line with the centre’s mandate of providing quality training on relevant post Service skills to retiring personnel of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, in order to prepare them to face the challenges of integrating into post-Service civil life, the Centre, conducted a range of courses for discharging commissioned and Non-Commissioned Officers including the Servicemen Pre-Discharge Course.

The Course according to him, “ assembled on July 9,2021 and it is made up of 350 trainees comprising 261 trainees from the Nigerian Army, 43 trainees from the Nigerian Navy, and 46 trainees from the Nigerian Air Force.

“The Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre Pre-Discharge Course is uniquely designed to equip the discharging Senior Non-Commissioned Officers with the appropriate skills to function effectively in a competitive, dynamic socioeconomic environment after many years of engagement in an organized system such as the Armed Forces. This is done by developing their entrepreneurship and managerial skills as well as providing a wide array of vocational skills acquisition opportunities.

“To ensure effective execution of its mandate, the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre boasts of a pool of experienced and dedicated teaching staff and resource persons who effectively deliver lessons across its several specialist workshops and academic departments.

“In the last 12 weeks, these graduating trainees have undergone intensive training in a range of specialist fields and topics including Planning for Value Addition in Retirement, Principles of Management, Entrepreneurship and the Nigerian Economic System, Business Law as well as Maintaining Health and Ageing.

The trainees have also undergone training in a wide range of agricultural fields in the Centre’s Agro-Allied Wing focusing on Fishery, Piggery, Rabbitry, Ranching, Horticulture and Floriculture”.

He therefore commended the retiring trainees, for what he described as their untiring efforts put in to ensure they were better poised to succeed thereafter. He also admonished them to carry on with the same spirit in addressing the numerous challenges they were bound to meet as they transit to civil life.