Calabar, Cross River State – The Nigerian Navy on Friday charged graduates of the Command Level Officers Course Seven to build teams and not just a group of people by understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their team members for effective deployment.
This was disclosed by Rear Adm. Saheed Akinwande, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, during the graduation ceremony of 20 officers in the Command Level Officers Course Seven at the Naval War College Calabar.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three weeks of training, which commenced on Oct. 14, was to sharpen the knowledge of participants to function effectively when given commands of naval units.
Akinwande, who urged the graduates to be good ambassadors of the Nigerian Navy, urged them to make positive contributions to the discharge of the Navy’s statutory responsibilities as well as be good ambassadors of the college.
According to him, “Your passage through this course is to better prepare you for the challenges you will be confronted with in the course of your career, meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy expects the very best of you in terms of commitment and loyalty to the service and nation.”
Speaking further, the FOC said until recently, Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea had witnessed significant cases of piracy, sea robbery and kidnapping, but the concerted efforts of the Nigerian Navy had drastically reduced such cases in recent times.
Akinwande said this effort led to the delisting of Nigeria from piracy-prone countries in March 2022 by the International Maritime Bureau.
He added that “This reality underscores the critical place of capacity building in the Nigerian Navy and roles of its training institutions in achieving sustained security in the nation’s waterways” he said.
On his part, Rear Adm. Abdullahi Ahmed, Commandant Naval War College Calabar said with the course, the college had laid a solid professional foundation for the participants to be more effective in the field.
Ahmed told the graduates that as they went back to the field, they would be required to integrate practical experiences with the command and leadership skills that they had been taught.
He said it was up to the graduands to build on the knowledge gained, through further self-development efforts, perseverance and tact.
“It is pertinent to state that the process of becoming effective tactical-level commanders demands a lot of sacrifice and immense effort. However, It is the price that must be paid for success in the field.
“Preparing the graduates to meet this demand aligns with the mission of the college to develop operational level commanders with a thorough appreciation of complex national security problems, who are prepared to make sound decisions,” he said.
