The Chief of Army Staff, (COAS) Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai on Tuesday warned men and officers of the Nigerian Army to resist any attempt or action that will bring down the reputation of the military and called on them to be apolitical and loyal to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Buratai, who was speaking during the commissioning of the new complex of the Army War College Nigeria (AWCN) in Abuja, added that any army personnel who engages in politics or tries politicizing the Army will be severely dealt with.
He said the focus of the Army is to improve on the intellectual capacity of its operational level leaders.
The army chief said that henceforth the Army would be proactive in dealing with the security challenges in the country adding that the ever-changing environment requires new mental models which promote creativity, critical and systems thinking skills as well as deep understanding of operational art and campaign planning.
Speaking on the Army War College Nigeria, Buratai said that the facility was meant to basically develop the capacities of Nigerian Army officers at the operational level and to an extent improve strategic competence.
“Any army that has highly professional officers at the operational level is one that is poised for future success as this category of officers constitutes the critical mass of the army.
"The college is poised to be a regional centre of excellence that would give professional military education to middle cadre officers as well as provide an opportunity for them to rethink and re-strategize on the best approach to confront most security challenges facing the nation today.
"Let me safely say that the college is the military laboratory for the Nigerian Army as it is expected to generate operational strategies and propose workable courses of action", he said.
Buratai, while expressing the hope that strategic skills taught at the college would form the fulcrum and flagship of the institution, charged prospective officers to utilize opportunities of the college to improve their individual and collective capacities towards a better understanding of managing asymmetric war.