The Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, on Monday said military campaigns and operations in Nigeria in recent times had centred on containment of “asymmetric warfare”.
He said the military had been involved in internal peace enforcement and peacekeeping efforts in aid to civil authority.
Olonisakin stated this in Abuja, while inaugurating the Joint Operational Campaign Planning Course 2019 organised by Defence Headquarters in conjunction with the British Military and Advisory Training Team.
Represented by Major General Benjamin Ahanotu, Director, Campaign Planning, Defence Headquarters, he said military efforts alone were impossible to restore internal peace and security, hence joint planning and execution of all military-led campaigns had become imperative.
He said: “In this backdrop, the importance of synergy and collaboration by all sectors of the Nigerian economy, particularly the police, para-military and Ministries, Departments and Agencies, becomes paramount.
“A review of such operations suggested tardiness and inadequate cooperation in joint operational campaign planning.
“In this regard, the need to improve upon the skills, planning staff acquired during junior and senior staff courses was identified.
“It is expected that the participants will gain further insight of the principles and processes of joint operational campaign planning.”
Olonisakin expressed gratitude to BMAAT for the training cooperation with Nigeria, saying: “We appreciate your efforts towards building the desired capacity for addressing Nigeria’s internal security challenges.”
He explained that the course was intended to improve ongoing joint military operations in the country and equip the participants with integrated concepts of joint operational planning.
Olonisakin added that the course, with 45 participants, was designed to address key lessons from past and ongoing joint operations in Nigeria, especially the Armed Forces of Nigeria Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency Operations.
He told the participants to bring to bear the knowledge gained from the course on planning and execution as well as decision-making process when the need arose.
A BMAAT Facilitator, Wing Commander Nick Lamb, told newsmen that the course was aimed at bringing together better cooperation among all arms of the military as well as non-military elements and security services.
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