Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla has charged graduands of the Naval Warfare Course Eight to translate the knowledge gained in the course to improve operations in their respective units and establishment.
Ogalla made the call on Friday during the graduation event of 24 participants of the course from the Naval War College Calabar.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Naval Warfare Course Eight which commenced on Jan. 29, 2024 had as participants 17 Cdr., two Lt. -Col., two Wing Cdrs., a Capt. from Guinea Bissau and two Cdrs. from Ghana and Cameroon.
The Chief of Naval Staff who congratulated the participants for successfully completing the course urged them to be good ambassadors of the college.
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According to him, the maritime domain is susceptible to various forms of threats which result to trade disruptions and increased shipping costs, affecting economic prosperity of countries.
He said as such, multidimensional security and safety initiatives were required to combat these threats.
“The objective of the Naval War College is to build capacity of operational level commanders for the conceptualisation, planning and execution of operations towards combating maritime security threats.
“It is instructive to note that the College is satisfactorily actualizing its mandate amongst several other initiatives,” he said.
He said in a bid to make the nation’s maritime environment safer, the Nigerian Navy has carried-out operations such as OP. Calm Waters, Delta Sanity and Tsare Teku, which have achieved remarkable successes by curbing maritime crimes.
He added that the Nigerian Navy was also bolstering regional maritime security collaborative engagements under the 2013 Yaoundé Code of Conduct, to curb transnational maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea region.
On his part, Rear Adm. Abdullahi Ahmed, Commandant, Naval War College Calabar said the college was mandated to run various courses, principal among which was the Naval Warfare Course.
He said this was to develop operational level commanders with understanding of complex national security problems and are prepared to make sound decisions in the application of maritime force as a policy option.
“I call on the graduands who have been strategically trained to understand operational environment, to note that the end, means and ways of solving any problem must rest on a solid and objective understanding of the problem,” he explained.
NAN also reports that the weeklong graduation events also saw the participants visit motherless babies homes, played a novelty match among other events.