Opening Remarks By Air Marshal S B
Abubakar Chief of the Air Staff, at the maiden Retreat for Commanders on 24 February
2016 in Abuja
1. I am delighted to be in your
midst this morning on this important occasion of Commanders’ Retreat. In particular,
may I once again recognise the presence of our esteemed guest lecturers: AVM GB
Odesola, AVM PC Abel and AVM SO Abosede, who have continued to render their
selfless services to the growth and development of the NAF. Indeed, your presence
here today is a clear indication that the task of repositioning the NAF to
carve the desired niche in the current culture of ‘change’ is truly the
responsibility of both serving and retired personnel. Being the first in the
series, and bearing in mind that this is the maiden retreat organized for commanders
under my watch, I congratulate you on your various appointments and implore you
to brace up for the challenges ahead. This Retreat is geared towards providing the
road map for Unit Commanders to re-order their priorities for effective
leadership because; command at any level in the military is indeed the climax
of responsibility.
2. An event of this nature
therefore, affords me the opportunity to reiterate my call for an overhaul of
our thought processes and actions to align with the national strategic direction
as espoused by Mr President through the “Change Agenda”. I have always believed
that professionalism, discipline and focusing on excellence are key ingredients
for mission accomplishment. It is in line with this thought that informed I
crafted my vision which is; “to reposition the NAF into a highly professional
and disciplined force through capacity building initiatives for effective, efficient,
and timely employment of air power in response to Nigeria’s national security
imperatives.”
3. To ensure the attainment of
this vision, key drivers were set out and disseminated across board as a
working guide at all levels in implementing policies and instructions. I
implore you to adequately acquaint yourselves with the key drivers to ensure we
all operate on the same frequency. Having said that, it is appropriate to intimate
you with the modest achievements recorded since my assumption of office.
4. In the past 7 months, we have embarked
on some projects aimed at shoring up our operational, logistics, and administrative
infrastructure that would enable units function optimally while ensuring that
personnel and their families live in comfort. I am glad to state here that since
then, our operational capacity has greatly improved as evinced in the successes
recorded in our numerous operations in the country. Additionally, we have continued
in our drive to providing comfortable living accommodation and a healthy working
environment for our personnel so as to enhance their productivity. It is
important to mention here that most of these projects are executed through
‘direct labour’ in line with 2 of my Key drivers which are; “Reinforcing a culture
of self-reliance and prudent management of resources,’ and ‘Promoting and inculcating
the core values of integrity, excellence and service delivery”. This approach has
not only saved the NAF much needed financial resources but has also improved the
technical capacity of our personnel. I implore you to imbibe this culture so as
to ensure prudent and judicious management of scarce resources.
5. In the areas of training and
capacity building, I am glad to inform you that training arrangements with
reputable foreign and local training schools were sustained to cater for
training and retraining of our pilots, aircraft maintenance personnel, Regiment,
ATC and other Air Force Specialty needs. Instructor Pilots have also completed
their training for transport flying at the Aviation Training Resource (ATR) in
the UK. It is hoped that this will help build capacity for pilot training. In all,
about 640 personnel have been trained both
locally and overseas in flying and non-flying related specialties.
6. Other modest achievements
recorded since assumption of office include:
a. Enhanced Research and Development
resulting in breakthroughs towards self sufficiency. For instance, we have been
able to produce 500 units of Alpha-Jet bomb release pyro-cartridges as well as a
prototype stand alone INTERVALOMETER. Furthermore, we have signed Memoranda of Understanding
with institutions such as Novena University and ATBU in order to strengthen
strategic partnership in R & D.
b. The NAF achieved some level of
success in overhauling Alpha Jets Brakes assembly in collaboration with INNOSON
Vehicle Manufacturing Company Nnewi.
c. Provision of air support for
OP LAFIYA DOLE in the North East as well as the conduct of internal security operations
nationwide.
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