The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) yesterday conferred on the Chairman of Erisco Foods Limited, Chief Eric Umeofia, the Honorary Doctorate Degree of Management Science.
The NDA also conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Military Science on former Chief of Army Staff, Major General Alwali Kazir (retd); and a former Chief of Army and Defence Staff, General Alexander Ogomudia (retd) while the founder of African Leadership Centre, Professor Funmi Olonisakin, received the Honorary Doctorate Degree in Management Science.
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Speaking at the 32nd Combined Convocation Ceremony in honour of 239 cadets of 69 Regular Course and 1654 Post Graduate Students of the academy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while congratulating the students and awardees stressed that the institution existed to forestall disruptions and produce valiant officers and academic specialists to safeguard the country and drive the knowledge economy.
He said, “Education is the fulcrum of our national security, and this administration treats as an utmost priority the advancement of security education and academic specialisation in this era of fast-evolving local and global security threats.
“This Academy stands out in its uncompromising dedication to revamping a curriculum tailored to meet our peculiar security needs since its establishment in 1964. The threats surrounding us, and across the world, warranted the review of the curriculum of this institution which has prepared these graduating cadets for the dynamics of modern warfare, and in their strategic responses to emerging security challenges.”
He noted that cadets were marching to the world with superior military education and training, and into the country’s Armed Forces eagerly waiting to allocate their expertise to various segments of national defence.
The Commandant, Major General Ibrahim Yusuf, said the academy had begun to explore modern and evolving technologies and articulating an Academic Strategic Action Plan to reposition the institution as the paramount military university in Africa and one of Nigeria’s most prestigious universities by the next ten years.
Speaking with journalists after the convocation, Umeofia said the honour bestowed on him would allow him to do more for the country in order to attain self-sufficiency.
“The ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) do not support the manufacturing sector because if they did, the country will have gotten to an enviable position,” he said.
He commended the president for ensuring that the country produced “What it eats and eats what it has” adding, “Nigerians are the problem, if Nigerians patronise Made-in-Nigeria goods, the country will be better for it.”
Erisco Foods Limited is the top indigenous producer of tomato paste. The company produces about 450,000 metric tons of tomato paste per annum. It also produces and supplies ready-to-eat meals for soldiers to be consumed during military operations for the Nigeria military.
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