Nigeria has launched the Joint Doctrine and Welfare Centre, a strategic initiative designed to enhance military knowledge, collaboration, and innovation across the Armed Forces.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, made this known during the commissioning of the Armed Forces of Nigeria Joint Doctrine and Welfare Centre in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
NSA said that “this would serve as a hub for knowledge sharing, as well as research and development.”
According to him, common learning is more important, as he encouraged the services to adopt the idea and concept of practising jointness.
“This is based on the fact that developments in modern welfare have shown that jointness is the way forward. Let us harness the potential of this centre to drive progress to combat complex challenges and shape the future of our armed forces. As we move forward, we hope that this centre will meet the expectations of our national aspirations, drive innovation and make a positive impact on our desire to advance our military in line with the renewed hope agenda of this administration,” he said.
He stated thus: “The fact that, maybe for the first time, all the security agencies are one, they work together, they plan together, and they execute together.”
He noted that this group of leaders of today in the Armed Forces have been very innovative; they are bringing changes and improvements, which make the country change positively.
He commended the leadership, the ministers, the Chief of Defence Staff, all the Service Chiefs, and their Teams, as well as the initiators and other stakeholders who have worked tirelessly to bring this noble idea and initiative to fruition.
The Nigerian Chief Defence Staff and the Chairman of ECOWAS, General Christopher Musa, says the Centre would serve as a hub from which their collective military intellect would converge, where they would develop, refine, and codify the doctrines that would guide their joint operations.
Cohesive unit
According to him, they would analyse emerging threats, experiment with innovative tactics, and prepare the forces to operate as one cohesive unit, regardless of their service affiliations.
“The Joint Doctrine and Warfare Centre will foster an environment of continuous learning, critical thinking, and inter-service dialogue. It will be the place where we break down the problem, where we ground forces, understand the intricacies of naval power, where airmen appreciate the challenges of special operations, and where all branches learn to liberate each other’s strengths to achieve overwhelming superiority,” he said.
“We also intend to converse and bring closer all other security agencies so that we can see how we can make things fight better. Everybody is giving their support, bringing their role to play in the fight against insurgency and other threats to Nigeria as a nation. So it is not only a military thing, it is a Nigerian thing, and we want all Nigerians to take ownership of this,” he explained.
He noted that this is a new chapter in their military history where unity of effort, shared understanding, and doctrinal clarity would be their guiding principles.
He said that “this achievement represents the culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and vision. In fact, at a certain time, it looked as if it was going to be impossible, but we remained focused. And with the contribution and collaboration of everyone today, we are having this thing.”
He stressed that everything about doctrine is how they fight, how they operate together as a team, as it used to be individual Army, Air Force, Navy, now they’re connecting everybody and because they all have different approaches.
“This centre will now give us that diversity for us to strategise. We get our strategy as the Nigerian Armed Forces Doctrine for all the armed forces so that when we go out, everybody knows the role we’re going to play, everybody knows what to do, and we don’t leave anybody in doubt,” he said.
According to him, now what they want to do again is to extend it further to other security agencies because fragility and asymmetry are not like conventional warfare.
“Conventional warfare is country to country and maybe only the Armed Forces, but now you need the Armed Forces, you need the judiciary, you need everybody to play, even the health, the medical system, everybody together so they too know the roles we play,” he explained.
The Chief of Defence Operations, Major General Emeka Onumajuru, said the establishment of the Joint Doctrine and Warfare Centre is one of the needs to consolidate jointness in the outposts of Nigeria and to address inherent challenges in some joint operational areas.
According to him, these are challenges that require an integrated defence doctrine and supporting structures.
“It is this gap that the Joint Doctrine and Warfare Centre seeks to fill,” he said.
He noted that this is also in line with the Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs’ leadership concepts, which speak to operating in a joint environment.
He noted that today marks a significant milestone in our nation’s military history, particularly in the development of joint warfare and joint military capabilities.
He added that the centre is designed to serve as a central point for the development, harmonisation and review of joint doctrines for the outposts of Nigeria, guiding operations across all domains of warfare while fostering interoperability among the services.
Lateefah Ibrahim