The Armed Forces Command and Staff College, on Monday said it would continue to provide relevant training to ensure intergrated approach to Nigeria’s security.
The Commandant of the College, AVM Lawal Alao said during the opening of Exercise Haske Biyu 2019, for students of Senior Course 41 and participants from various organizations, that the focus was to ensure the adoption of various measures to ensure national security not necessarily through warfare.
Alao said that Exercise Haske Biyu was meant to broaden individual and institutional understanding of the roles of the military, security agencies and civilian organizations in military operations other than war “with emphasis on internal security and counterinsurgency operations”.
He said: “In view of the dynamics of global security and the dictates of our current national security challenges, security agencies and other critical stakeholders have found themselves deployed regularly for internal security operations.
“Such deployment requires them to carry out an array of tasks which involve kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to counter the threat posed by predominantly irregular groups.
“Most of such groups are organised and employ asymmetric tactics while carrying out their subversive activities.
“Consequently, it would take an integrated approach to national security involving the Armed Forces of Nigeria, security, paramilitary, human rights agencies and the media among other stakeholders, to appropriately respond to such complex crises. Hence, the importance of this exercise cannot be over emphasized.”
The Commandant said the participants would use the next three weeks to interact and come up with refined ideas which would advance Nigeria’s national security architecture.
Alao said: “To this end, we have carefully outlined a series of lectures, presentation, demonstrations, interactive sessions and outdoor exercises which have been prepared in line with current and emerging security trends in Nigeria and beyond.
“It should be interesting to see how all levers of national power are employed in the resolution of conflicts, either by deploying hard or soft power or a deployment of both.
“It will also be worthwhile to see how the media, which is often vilified by some military and security personnel, can help the defence and security agencies discharge their responsibilities in a responsible and conscientious manner.”
Alao disclosed that a major part of exercise Haske Biyu was the study of some conflicts in different parts of the world that have faced or are facing similar security challenges like Nigeria.
He added: “You will be identifying remote and immediate causes of conflict and more importantly, lesson to be learned from them with emphasis on how we can all build better synergise towards achieving our common goal of peace.”
The News Agency of Nigeria report that the Commandant encouraged the participants to build firm friendships and relationships that would last beyond the exercise and of benefit to the nation overall security.