The Nigerian Army’s 1 Division has commenced its 2025 Warrant Officers’ and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers’ Competition, with 150 athletes competing in five sporting events in Kaduna.
The week-long sporting events will feature weapon handling, obstacle crossing, range classification, combat swimming and map reading. About 150 athletes were drawn from 1 Division Garrison Kaduna, 3 Brigade Kano and 31 Brigade Minna, respectively.
Declaring open the event, the GOC, 1 Division, Major General Mayorenso Saraso, said the competition was part of the Nigerian Army’s efforts to professionalise and emphasise training, with the Chief of Army Staff making it a key objective in his command philosophy.
The GOC, Major General Mayorenso Saraso was represented by the Chief of Staff, 1 Division, Brigadier General, David Nwakonobi.
He disclosed that the soldiers would be tested in areas such as weapon handling, combat swimming, map reading, and obstacle crossing, which are essential skills for soldiers deployed in various regions.
“All these are skills a soldier would require whether he or she is deployed in Northeast region, Northwest region, Niger Delta or the Gambia on peacekeeping mission,” he said.
“Soldiers are the bedrock of a sub-unit and units, and it is a well-known fact that a chain is as strong as its weakest link, therefore, it is expected that every soldier will possess skill sets of the highest quality.”
“It is against this backdrop that we expect to witness an outing of the very high standard during this Warrant Officers’ and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers’ competition,” he added.
Saraso mentioned that, impartial umpires had been selected and briefed to adhere to the rules and regulations, ensuring a fair competition. The GOC appreciated the Chief of Army Staff’s support for making available resources required for effective training.
Earlier, Brigadier General Muhammad Kana, the Commander, 1 Division Garrison Nigerian Army, said the competition was aimed at improving physical fitness, developing leadership traits, skills and building team work.
Kana explained that the event was also an epitome of organisational ability, use of initiatives and promoting esprit de corps amongst the participants.
“I have no doubt that all the contingents are adequately prepared to keenly compete and emerge victorious in the various events for the competition,” he stressed.
The competition is expected to showcase the high standards of the soldiers, promote teamwork, sportsmanship, and comradeship among the participants.