By Sumaila Ogbaje
Members of the 27 Short Service Combatant Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) on Saturday, held their grand reunion and pledged to continue to render services to the nation.
The Chairman, Maj.-Gen. Okechukwu Ugo (rtd), said the members had come a long way since 1986 when they were commissioned into the service, saying that 2022 marked their 36th anniversary.
Ugo said the members had served the nation in various capacities in the armed forces with some reaching the peak of their career some of whom had continued to serve the country even in retirement.
According to him, many of them have done well and excelled in their various endeavours and I think we have a lot of reasons to thank God for.
“We are happy to produce a Force Commander in the United Nations in Sudan in the person of Maj.-Gen. Benjamin Sawyerr.
Also, this morning as we were coming here, the Federal Government has also appointed three of us as zonal coordinators at the Center for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW).
“So, I want to say that all these achievements we have had, would not have been possible without the support of some of our mentors who will join us later in the evening and our lovely wives who have helped to keep our families together,” he said.
The chairman commended the Chief of Defence Staff and the service chiefs for the focused strategies towards addressing the prevailing security issues in the country.
According to him, security issues are dynamic saying the military hierarchy and heads of other security agencies are on top of the game.
“They are studying the scenarios in various sectors, various theaters of operation, and they are coming up with strategies to face the challenges we have.
“A lot of training is being done to empower our military today to face the challenges we have,” he said.
A member, House of Representatives and member of the course, Chris Agibe, expressed joy to that members were reuniting after decades, saying that the members had continued to contribute to nation building in different spheres.
Agibe said he had continued to use his position as a member of the House Committee on Army to ensure that the military enjoyed tremendous support from the house in terms of appropriation and funding.
He said that being in the service of the Nigerian army before made him to have good understanding of the needs and workings of the military.
Another member of the group, Retired Air Commodore Ayuba Buhari, also commended the efforts of the current service chiefs in tackling the security situations in the country.
Buhari said the renewed synergy among the services had given impetus to the noticeable successes being recorded in the various theatres of operations across the country.
He urged the military training institutions to continue to turnout first class officers who would continue to uphold high ethical standards in the military.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the group reached out to St. Mary Orphanage Home in Gwagwalada as part of activities to mark their reunion and 36th Anniversary.
The wives of the course members donated food items, toiletries and cash to the orphanage on behalf of their husbands.
(NAN)
