Participants of the The Naval War College Nigeria (NWCN) Course 4 have been charged to be on alert to effectively deal with myriads of security challenges facing the country.

Commandant of the College, Rear Adm. Adeseye Ayobanjo, gave the charge while delivering his speech at the virtual inaugural lecture at the Headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command in Calabar.

Ayobanjo told the 21 participants that the Naval Warfare Course, been the principal programme at the NWCN, was particularly structured to equip senior officers and their equivalents from sister agencies with requisite capacity and skills.

He added that the skills include leadership, national security, military strategy, theatre strategy and operational art among others, to effectively with maritime and security challenges.

According to him, the increasing sophistication of maritime security threats such as piracy, armed robbery against ships and crude oil theft in the maritime domain as well as emerging irregular security challenges such as terrorism and others have all aggregated to expand the roles of the Nigerian Navy beyond its traditional roles.

“The reality of these challenges with their negative impact on our national security and development informs the practical efforts towards developing a credible naval force as envisioned by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Ibok Ekwe-Ibas,” he said.

He explained that the maiden inaugural lecture was scheduled to hold in early June 2020, adding that the observance of the Federal Government Covid-19 protocol in the College necessitated the self isolation of the participants for 14 days.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the participants observed social distance during the inaugural lecture which took place at the Vice Admiral Usman Jubril Auditorium at the Eastern Naval Command Headquarters.

Rear Adm. Ayobanjo said that the NWCN was established in May 2017 to provide intellectual inputs at the operational level of maritime and joint operations by developing the critical competencies of selected senior naval officers and their equivalents in sister services.

“The inaugural lecture is one of the new introduction to the Course and I have no doubt that it will give you the participants a solid foundation as you journey into the operational level warfare.

“I therefore charge you participants of Naval Warfare Course 4 to take advantage of this inaugural lecture and robust curriculum that is especially designed for you.

“On completion of the course, I expect you all to emerge better equipped with the right professional standing, knowledge and skills set to contribute meaningfully in solving the plethora of security challenges currently faced by the Nigerian Navy and indeed, the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

“I wish to appreciate the Chief of the Naval Staff, without whose sound leadership and unflinching support, the objectives of the college would not be realised,” he said.

Rear Adm. Aminu Baba-Lawal (Rtd), who delivered the virtual inaugural lecture with the theme “Understanding Operational Level Warfare”, said the lecture was to equip the participants with operational warfare training.

Baba-Lawal told the participants that as operational level commanders, they needed to create results to achieve operational framework for their Commands.

He added that the operational level was a period where an officer is expected to exhibit tactical and competent warfare skills.

In his remarks, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Adm. David Adeniran, who was represented by the Chief Staff Officer, Rear Admiral Taiye Imam, Congratulated the participants for their nomination to participate in the Course 4.(NAN)