Officers of the Nigeria Air Force should generate new ideas and provide innovative solutions that would give competitive advantage to Nigeria over its adversaries.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, gave the charge, during the graduation ceremony of the third set of participants of the Nigerian Air Force War College (NAFAWC) Makurdi.

Abubakar said the nineteen graduating participants, who were of the rank of Wing Commander and its equivalent in the other Services, had undergone six months of intensive training in the application of Air Power in both joint and independent operations.

He said they comprised 16 senior officers from the NAF, one from the Nigerian Army and 2 from the Nigerian Navy, congratulating the graduating participants for surmounting yet another hurdle in the quest for excellence.

Abubakar urged the graduating participants to bring to bear the skills and lessons acquired during the course in their future deployments.

The air chief stressed that they needed to exploit clear and critical thinking to produce vigorous, thoughtful and innovative approaches, thereby adding value in the way things are done.

He said the current NAF leadership placed high premium on capacity building initiatives aimed at developing competencies and skills of personnel of all specialties in order to add value to efforts at ensuring the security of lives and properties of Nigerians.

Abubakar said the quality of personnel would, to a large extent, determine the effectiveness of the Service in meeting critical considerations for Nigeria’s defence and national security imperatives.

He said the complex battle space in counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations, requires precision in targeting as well as effective coordination with surface forces while understanding the limitations of Air Power, saying he was happy the College had adequately equipped the participants with the knowledge to navigate this complex landscape.

Abubakar said the Service, on its part, would continue to support the activities of the College, within the limits of available resources, to provide realistic and result-oriented training, saying the College was established to bridge the gap in the quality of workforce that transit from the tactical to the operational and strategic levels in the NAF.

He appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari, whose support and exemplary leadership in the face of contending economic priorities made the establishment of the College realisable.

AVM James Baba, the outgoing Commandant of the College, in his speech, thanked the CAS for his initiative and tenacity that led to the establishment of the College on 5 Sept. 2016.

The Air War Course 3/2018 was inaugurated on Feb. 15 to equip participants with general knowledge on warfare with emphasis on Air Power.

The NAFAWC, which is the highest military training institution in the NAF, also seeks to equip officers with in-depth understanding of how to translate national strategic objectives into operational directives.

Participants were taught Air Power Principles and Concepts, Warfare Studies, Fundamentals of Strategy, Warfighting and Wargaming as well as Land and Maritime Warfare Studies, during the Course.