Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-General Waidi Shaibu, has called for a comprehensive overhaul of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) curriculum to align with today’s evolving security landscape.
Speaking during a visit by the NDA Commandant, Maj.-Gen. Oluyemi Olatoye, at the Army Headquarters in Abuja, General Shaibu said the academy must strengthen training in night operations, physical fitness, artificial intelligence and other emerging warfare domains.
These reforms, he noted, would ensure that young officers are “fully attuned to the realities of modern battlefields and equipped with the warrior ethos and battle-oriented leadership skills required to confront contemporary security challenges.”
Shaibu also underscored the importance of enhancing research capacity, particularly within the NDA’s Department of Military Science, describing it as a vital step towards advancing Nigeria’s defence industry and building indigenous capability for innovation and self-reliance. A robust research framework, he said, would serve as the intellectual foundation for a modern and technologically advanced fighting force.
The Army Chief pledged full support to the Commandant in driving these reforms, reaffirming his commitment to ensuring that the NDA produces officers who are “strategically sound, operationally competent and fully prepared” to meet the nation’s evolving security demands.
Maj.-Gen. Olatoye, in response, expressed his readiness to build on the foundation laid by his predecessors. He appealed for continued support from the COAS to achieve the academy’s mission of producing competent, disciplined and professional officers capable of safeguarding Nigeria’s security interests.
He described the NDA as the “training factory” for future officers of the Armed Forces and thanked the military leadership for the confidence placed in him.
