NAF
Note
FROM THE
Embarking on Community Relations Efforts
EDITOR
T he history of public relations could be
traced back to the United States during
the tremendous growth of industries
from the end of the American Civil War to the
early 20th century. The sudden growth of
these industries took place with little regard
for public welfare. When a group of
reformers and activists known as
muckrakers waged a campaign to expose
the excesses of these big businesses, some
industrialists realized the need to improve
their public image. From then, the
profession of public relations slowly evolved
as a major force in business, politics,
entertainment, and society in general. The
Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Public Relations
Information Manual thus described public
relations as the systematic approach to
event management through careful
planning and execution of projects that are
intended to bring about positive image to an
organisation. As a subset of public relations,
community relations have evolved to
become a very important function of any
organisation. It is defined as a planned
series of events and activities having the
objective of fostering understanding and
acceptance (of the military mission) and
involving the participation of the unit (or
installation), the public and the commander.
Since no organisation lives in a vacuum, the
citizens that populate its geographical
operating area are essential to its operation.
A successful organization like the Nigerian
Air Force must therefore continuously
establish understanding and support for its
activities, services and positions among
those publics important to its welfare. This
can be achieved only by applying good
public relations principles over time. It must
be understood that many of the benefits
civilian enterprises derive from planned
community relations programs are equally
desirable for a military organization like the
NAF. The Armed Forces also need to enjoy
a favourable position in the local
community, strive for good employee
relations and seek cooperation and high
esteem from the local population. The NAF
should be concerned with community
relations because the business of the NAF is
the people's business. Military
organizations, such as the NAF, have a
responsibility to report to the public on the
conduct of all military activities as long as it
does not affect national security. In a
democratic setting like ours, the individual
citizen has a right to know how efficiently,
and to what purpose their armed forces are
using their sons and daughters and their tax
money plus what the returns on their
investment are in personal and national
security. It must also be realised that the
effectiveness of military operations depends
upon public understanding, support and
cooperation. Like business organizations,
military establishments have a moral debt
to take their place in the community as
“corporate citizens,” be good neighbours
and to show an awareness of community
problems and a willingness to help out.
Indeed, the United States Military have
realised the importance of community
relations and has since created a
Directorate of Community Relations within
the office of the Assistant Secretary of
Defence for Public Affairs with responsibility
for the overall planning, implementation and
coordination of community relations
within the Department of Defence
(DoD).This Directorate was created
essentially for the following purposes:
a.
b.
Informing the public on the state of
preparedness of the DoD and to show
United States partnership with its
allies.
Developing public understanding of
and cooperation with the DoD in its
community relations programs.
c. Promoting national security and
stimulating patriotic spirit.
d. Helping recruiting and personnel
procurement programs of the armed
forces.
While this editorial is not canvassing for the
creation of a separate directorate for
community relations, it sees the
intensification of community relations
efforts by all NAF units as a means to further
improving on our relationship with our
civilian counterparts. It also sees these
efforts as a means of boosting the
confidence of civilians in the NAF. Recently,
kidnapping and sabotage of government
facilities have become the vices of the day,
thus the NAF needs the confidence of its
neighbouring communities to enable her
easy access to reliable information. Such
efforts could be realised by the deployment
of our medical personnel to render free
medical services or employing personnel to
carry out sanitation exercise in chosen
communities. Also paying visits to the sick
and less priviledged as is been done by
members of the Nigerian Air Force Officers
Wives Association periodically is another
form of community relations. Recently,
Headquarters Tactical Air Command
extended its water supply to neighbouring
communities around its headquarters. That
is a typical example of community relations
project that should be encouraged.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 1
FROM THE AOC’S
DESK
Air Vice Marshal MD Umar
Air Officer Commanding
Training Command
S
ince its establishment in
1978, Training Command
(TC) has continued to play an
active role in the attainment of the
goals and objectives of the Nigerian
Air Force (NAF) by providing skilled
manpower through the
implementation of the local training
policies of the NAF. The Command
has also demonstrated
professionalism in its efforts to
develop on-the-job training of skilled
manpower to meet the increasing
demands of a modern Air Force. It is
in the light of this that the “Air
Trainer” magazine is produced by the
Command to serve as a medium for
disseminating information on its
activities and also provides an
avenue for our personnel, families
and friends to document and cross-
fertilize ideas. I am indeed delighted
that this is the second edition of the
magazine that is produced during my
tenure. I wish to thank all those that
have made this possible.
On my assumption of office as the Air
Officer Commanding (AOC) on 24
October 2008, I made a clarion call
to all personnel under Command
that together we should strive to
2 AIR TRAINER PAGE
make giant strides in the effort to lift
the Command to greater heights. It is
heart- warming to note that the call
has been heeded. As a result, we
have been able to record some
achievements in both initial and
advance training of pilots and air
traffic controllers. In the area of
ground training, the Command has
continued to provide training for
support services personnel. We have
also continued to liaise with sister
Services and other agencies for the
training of our personnel in
specialised fields. Similarly, in
cadets training, the Command
conducts orientation courses for
final year NAF cadets from the
Nigerian Defence Academy. The
Command also held its biennial
2009 Training Conference at 303
Flying Training School, Kano as one
of the ways of improving training and
career progression of our personnel.
I am indeed satisfied with the
conduct and outcome of the
conference. On behalf of the officers,
airmen, airwomen and civilian staff
of TC, may I use this medium to
express our gratitude to the Chief of
the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal
Oluseyi Petinrin CFR, for his
i m m e n s e s u p p o r t . To t h e
Government and people of Kano
state, I say thank you for your warm
hospitality and assistance
throughout the period of the
conference. Let me also express my
deep appreciation to the Air Officers
and other senior officers both serving
and retired who participated in the
conference.
I must state here that all the
achievements so far recorded by the
Command could not have been
possible without the active support
of our amiable and indefatigable CAS,
Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin. I
therefore urge personnel under
Command to continue to contribute
their quota towards the realization of
the CAS vision which is “To rebuild
the operational capability of the
Nigerian Air Force for effective and
efficient employment as a vital
instrument of national power in a
rapidly changing world”.
Lastly, I commend members of the
Editorial Board for the laudable work
and untiring effort to produce the
magazine. Thank you and God bless.
 AIR TRAINER

NEWS
CONTENTS
Pg 4 - Ghana Advocate Stronger Military Relationship with Nigeria
Pg 5 - Cater for Military Pensioners Gov Shekarau.
Pg 6 - Kaduna State Government Seeks NAF Assistance.
Pg 7 - Food that Lowers Blood Presure
Pg 8 - Pictures of CAS Visit to HQ TC and Other Co located Units. Publisher
AVM MD Umar DSS psc fwc Msc
Pg 10 - A TRIBUTE LADI MANKAMI WUYEP: THE EXIT OF A JEWEL
Pg 11 - Maj Gen Mahmud Yerima Calls for Synergy Between NDA and EDITORIAL TEAM
Editor in Chief/Editor
Training Command. Wg Cdr EK Gabkwet FSS psc AMNIM

Pg 12 - Fulani Community Visit HQ TC. Sub- Editor

Fg Offr A Aliyu
Pg 13 - Air Officer Operatons, Flies the Air Beetle.
Graphic Artist
Pg 13 - AOC TC Becomes Life Patron of RANAO. Choice Digital Prints
Pg 14 - Senate Committee on NAF Visit to Training Command.
Reporters
Pg 16 - Human Errors Responsible for 351 Domestic Fire incidents Fs Fadare O
Corper Aisha Tanko Abdullahi
Commandant, Kano Fire Service Training School.
Sgt Fanzhi
Pg 18 - Pictures of visit of the Czech Republic Committee on Defence to Sgt Nwabuzor FB
303 FTS, Kano. Production Crew
Pg 19 - The Nigerian Air Force Personnel in Jos Keep fit. Fs Ezekiel RM
Mr Okocha Emeka
Pg 19 - NAF to Join Battle Against Drug Abuse. Mr Lucky Egejuru
Pg 20 - 325 GTG activities in Pictures. Photographers
WO Agada A
Pg 20 - 330 NAF Station Jos Activities in Pictures. Fs Suleiman MD
Pg 22 - Optimizing Training to meet NAF Operational Requirments
Layout + Graphics:
Pg 32 - NAFOWA Activities Commended. Olayombo Aikpit 08037881873

Pg 33 - Pictures of NAFOWA Activities. Printed by:

Planet Press Limited
Pg 34 - AVM Muazu Emphasis on Evaluation. 443 Badagry Expressway, Alakija Bus Stop
rd
Pg 35 - AVM SBE Gberevbie Commends Training Command. (Opp. Festac 3 Gate), Lagos. Tel: 0802 315 7658

Pg 36 - CAS Committed To Personnel Welfare.

Pg 37 - Education is The Bedrock Of Nation Building. All correspondences should be forwarded
to:
Pg 38 - Education Adds Value University Don. Headquarters Training Command, Nigerian
Pg 39 - NAF Committed to Professionalism. Air Force, No. 37/39 Sokoto Road, P. M. B.
2247, Kaduna.
Pg 40 - CAS Reiterates the Relevance of Training E-mail: hqtc@nigerianairforce.net
Pg 41 - Peace, Security Avenue to Development.
Enugu: Information Office, 305 Flying
Pg 42 - 48 Command and Leadership in the Military- My Perspective. Training School, Nigerian Air
Pg 49 - 51 Evolving a Virile System of Manpower Development to Meet the Force, Enugu.
Challenges of the Present Economic Meltdown.
Kano: Information Office, 303 Flying
Pg 53 - Community Health Project Training School, Nigerian Air
Pg 54 - NAF to Provide Condusive Environment for Learning. Force, Kano.

Pg 55 - AFCSC to Award Masters Degree. Jos: Information Office, 330 Nigerian

Pg 56 - Shekarau Wants Armed Forces Repositioned. Air Force, Station Jos.
Pg 57 - Training Conference 2009: A Post-mortem.
Pg 59 - 2009 Annual AOC Golf Tournament The Trainer Magazine is a publication of
the Training Command of The Nigerian
Pg 60 - 2009 Training Conference in Pictures Air Force. Views expressed in this
Pg 62 - Pictures AOC TC Familiarisation Tour magazine are those of the authors and
not necessarily of the Nigerian Air Force
Pg 65 - AOC Tour of Units Under Command or the Training Command.

3 AIR TRAINER PAGE

GHANA ADVOCATE STRONGER MILITARY RELATIONSHIP WITH

NIGERIA
The Commandant Ghana Armed Forces
Command and Staff College, Major
General Kwesi Yankson has advocated for
stronger military relationship between his
By Sgt Fanzhi Tc

Country and Nigeria.

General Yankson made the statement
when he paid a courtesy call on the Air
Officer Commanding Training Command,
Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar. Air Cdre Akinola Ogunnaike welcoming Major General Major General Yankson Intimating the AOC, AVM
He also stated that a stronger bilateral Kwesi Yankson to Hq TC. Umar on the Mission of his visit.
military co-operation between Nigeria and
Ghana would promote peace and security
in the West African sub-region, adding that
it would further enhance peace support
mission among other West African
countries.
General Yankson further disclosed that
arrangements were in advance stage for
the committee of Commandants of Armed
Forces Command and Staff Colleges in Major General Yankson signing the visitors book Major General Yankson taking salute on arrival
Africa to organize a joint military exercise
which would bring personnel of Armed
Forces in Africa to share their wealth of
experience and charged Nigeria to
contribute towards the success of the
exercise.
Responding, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed
Dikko Umar said that Nigeria and Ghana
were the frontiers of peace and stability in
the West African sub-region.
AV M U m a r a l s o d i s c l o s e d t h a t The AOC AVM Umar in a handshake with his visitor Major General Yankson inspecting quarterguard
arrangements had been concluded for the at Hq TC
Nigerian Air Force to establish an
international Helicopter Training School
which he hoped other African Countries
would avail themselves the opportunities
of training their pilots.
Major General Yankson also took time to
visit the 301 Flying Training School and the
Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT)
both situated at the NAF Base, Kaduna.
Major General Yankson in a group photograph with AVM Umar presenting a gift to Major General Yankson
his host and other principal officers

4 AIR TRAINER PAGE


– Gov Shekarau
By Sgt Fanzhi TC
Governor Shekarau receiving a gift from the visiting
Air Officer Commanding.
Picture showing Governor Shekarau and members of
the AOC’s entourage in the Governor’s Office.
AVM MD Umar (2nd left) in a group photograph with his
entourage and some Kano State Government officials.
G
overnor of Kano State,
Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau
has called on the Federal
Government to settle all
entitlements due to military
pensioners.
He said, “it will be sad for someone
who had served his fatherland and
had nothing to rely on after several
years of meritorious service
defending the territorial integrity of
his country.”
Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau made the
call when he received the Air Officer
Commanding, Training Command,
Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko
Umar. He said, “it will be quite
frustrating for one to serve his
fatherland all his life and have
nothing to fall back on in old age. He
charged the Federal Government to
endeavour to carter for the welfare of
military and other security personnel
who lay down their lives for the
peaceful co-existence of the Nation.
The Governor lamented on the plight
of retired military personnel,
stressing that a lot of them had died
on queue waiting for their benefits
and gratuities without any positive
result.
Mallam Shekarau advocated for
general welfare for serving personnel
to boast their morale, pointing out
that without good welfare package
they would not be committed and
dedicated to their duties.
''When the future of the personnel
look hopeless the fear of retirement
would always grip their mind as the
year of retirement approaches''
Mallam Shekarau observed.
The Governor frowned at a situation
when a personnel who lay down his
or her life for his country with nothing
to show for it, stressing that it is
ungodly and unacceptable.
Governor Shekarau called on the
Federal Government to introduce life
insurance scheme for families of
serving personnel, so as to provide
succour for the family, adding that
without such insurance there would
be no commitment in the service by
security personnel.
He prayed for the repose of the souls
of deceased personnel who died in
the course of defending their
fatherland, and urged others to
emulate them.
The Governor was full of praises for
an illustrious son of the State to have
attained such a high position in his
chosen career, making the State
proud and prayed for the Air Officer
Commanding [AOC] for Godly
wisdom in discharging his military
duties.
Governor Shekarau charged AVM
Umar to be a worthy ambassador of
the State and the Nation in general
and be fair and transparent in the
course of his duties, stressing that
the integrity he has earned over the
years should be consolidated and
appreciated by all.
Speaking on security, Governor
Shekarau noted that it was the
priority of the Nation and charged the
Air Force to always support the effort
of the State in protecting the lives
and properties of its citizens.
He noted that Kano State would,
within her limited resource, work out
modalities to better the lifes of
people and make the environment
conducive for sustainable
development.
''We on our part would always
support your flying activities to
ensure success in your Training'' he
further asserted.
Commenting on Training, Mallam
Shekarau said the importance of
training could not be over
emphasized without which the
Armed Forces and especially the Air
Force cannot perform their
constitutional roles.
In his remarks, Air Vice Marshal
Mohammed Dikko Umar assured
the Governor of NAF support in
maintaining peace and tranquility in
the State and the Nation at large,
stressing that without peace, no
meaningful development would be
achieved.
The AOC commended the effort of
the State Government for
completing the bridge linking 303
Flying Training School and part of the
metropolis, stressing that by such, it
indicates commitment of the
Governor to the welfare of the people
and that of personnel of the Nigerian
Air Force in the State.
He told the Governor he was in Kano
State to appreciate the long standing
relationship between the State
government and the Air Force.
The AOC was accompanied by some
of his Principal Staff Officers.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 5
Kaduna State Govt Seeks T he Kaduna State
Government is soliciting for
the assistance of the

NAF Assistance Nigerian Air Force, Training

Command to successfully host the
National Sports Festival (KADA 09)
and the under 17 World Football
Championship.
by Fs Fadare O
Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Mr
Ibrahim Yakowa made this plea
recently while on a visit to the 345
Aero Medical Hospital Kaduna as
part of programmes marking the
y e a r 2 0 1 0 A r m e d Fo r c e s
Remembrance day.
Highly impressed by the State of
the art equipment he saw at the
hospital, the Deputy Governor
made a passionate plea to the Air
Officer Commanding Training
Command to allow the State
Government use the hospital and
the recruits hostel for both the
Sports Festival and the U-17 World
Cup.

The Deputy Governor undertook a

guided tour of the hospital and
wished the sick quick recovery. The
The Air Officer Commanding Training Command, AVM Mohammed Umar presenting a gift to the Deputy Governor Deputy Governor later donated
of Kaduna State, Mr Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, when the later visited 345 Aero Medical Hospital,Kaduna. assorted items to the hospital.

Deputy Governor Ibrahim Yakowa

signing the visitors book.

Deputy Governor of Kaduna State interacting with a

patient at the Medical Center.

6 AIR TRAINER PAGE

 CAS COMMITED
TO PERSONNEL WELFARE
C
hief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oluseyi Olusegun Petinrin has,
since assumption as the 16th Chief of Air Staff, been
committed to personnel welfare as a way of boasting their
moral and alleviating their living standards, Air Officer Commanding
Training Command, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar had
said.
AVM Umar gave the declaration recently at the 305 Flying Training
School Enugu, during his walking visit to the unit.
He said a lot had been done in the areas of welfare by the Chief by
paying school fees for children of personnel and called on all
personnel to give the Chief the necessary support in his effort to
take the Air Force to greater heights.
The AOC stressed that the gesture was a milestone in the history of
the Air Force and urged personnel to be discipline and be
committed to their duties, adding that since assuming duty, the
Chief had through the Nigerian Air Force Foundation (NAFF), also
provided affordable accommodation to both serving and retired
personnel which was commendable.
The AOC used the opportunity to re-assure the personnel that plans
were in advanced stage to restore the Service to its lost glory,
pointing out that platforms were been expected and some would be
stationed at 305 FTS to enhance the unit’s operational capability.
Speaking further, AVM Umar charged the personnel to be security
AVM Umar
By SGT Fanzhi TC
conscious, considering the security situation in some parts of the
Country and they should report any suspicious character within their
environment.
Commenting on discipline, the AOC expressed satisfactory with the
standard and charged the personnel to keep the flag flying.
Also speaking on the relationship of personnel and their civilian
counterparts, the AOC admonished the personnel to be diplomatic
in handling issues with civilians, stressing that with the level of
development in technology, misconducts could be captured
through communication gadgets and this could tarnish the image of
the Service.
Commenting on regimentation, AVM Umar charged personnel to be
cautions in handling firearms in the course of discharging their
duties and tasked Commanders to organize range classification
exercises to keep personnel abreast with the use of firearms.
Personnel were advised to desist from drunkenness while on duty.
The walking visit also took the AOC to Agbani village, where he
inspected the Air Force Comprehensive School.
The AOC also inspected the unit hangar and some on- going
projects being carried out by the unit. He called on all and sundry to
support the Chief of Air Staff in his effort to move the Air Force
forward.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 7
 PICTURES OF CAS VISIT TO TC AND CO-LOCATED UNITS IN KADUNA

Air Officer Commanding Training Command, AVM MD Umar welcoming Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal OO Petinrin to the Command headquarters.

CAS unveiling the newly commissioned Computer Centre for children of

NAF personnel at 335 Base Services Group during his visit to the unit.

Commanders 335 BSG Air Commodore Labaran Halliru conducts the CAS and other senior officers round the shooting range.

CAS inspecting quarter guard at HQ TC on arrival.

AVM MD Umar introducing his PSO's to the CAS at the Command Headquarters. Group Captain Bukar stressing a point to the CAS during his
familiarization tour of units in Kaduna.
8 AIR TRAINER PAGE
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...Come & Experience the life & style of NAF Club!

AVM SBE Gberevbie takes salute on arrival at HQ TC.

AVM MD Umar and AVM SBE Gberevbie at HQ TC.

AVM SBE GBEREVBIE

COMMENDS TRAINING COMMAND
SGT Fanzhi TC

“No meaningful achievements can be recorded by any ourselves”.

chief executive of a corporate organisation without the
AVM Gberevbie called on all Chief Executives to ensure
co-operation of other organizations, outgoing
they sensitize their subordinates on the importance of
Commandant of the Armed Forces Command Staff
co-operation and urged the Command to extend to his
College (AFCSC) Jaji Kaduna, Air Vice Marshal Sunday
successor the same co-operation accorded to him.
Bernard Gberevbie has said.
“Despite my retirement from the service I am still part of
AVM Gberevbie was speaking when he paid a farewell
the Air Force family” AVM Gberevbie said. Speaking
visit on the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Training
further, AVM Gberevbie stressed that his career in the Air
Command, Air vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar.
Force has been fulfilled, having risen from the ranks to
AVM Gberevbie who was proceeding on his terminal Air Vice Marshal.
leave after 35 years of meritorious service in the
AVM Gberevbie added that retirement was routine and it
Nigerian Air Force said, ”it is very obvious that we must
was his turn to pull out from the Service and wishing
co-operate with our colleagues to excel in our chosen
every one to retire successfully after service to the
careers.” He urged all officers to ensure that they co-
fatherland.
operate with the AOC in his effort towards taking the
Command to the next level. Responding, Air Officer Commanding, Training
Command, AVM Umar thanked him for the farewell visit
He commended the Command for making his tenure as
and wished him a happy retirement life.
Commandant Armed Forces Command and Staff
College (AFCSC) a fulfilled one, stressing that as AVM Umar lauded AVM Gberevbie for his wealth of
members of the same family “We must co-operate with experience and impacting same on officers.

10 AIR TRAINER PAGE

Major General Mahmud Yerima (4th from right) and members of his entourage in a
group photograph with his host, AVM MD Umar and his Principal Staff Officers

MAJOR GENERAL MAHMUD YERIMA CALLS

FOR SYNERGY BETWEEN
NDA AND TRAINING COMMAND
by FS Fadare O

The Commandant, Nigerian Defence

Air Commodore Akinola Ogunnaike welcoming the Commandant, Nigerian Defence
Academy, Maj Gen Mahmud Yerima has
Academy (NDA), Major General MA Yerima to the Command Headquarters. stressed the need for co-ordination of
activities between the NDA and Training
Command.

Major General Yerima made this call

recently during his courtesy call on the Air
Officer Commanding Training Command
AVM MD Umar. In his words “There is a
need for us to work in synergy since we are
both involved in training. I will be
extending invitation to the command to
participate in our activities”.

In his response, the Air Officer

Major General Yerima taking salute on arrival at the Command Headquarters. Commanding Training Command assured
the Commandant of the Command's
maximum support. “We are aware of your
constraints in the training of the cadets. I
would like to assure you that you can
count on our support at all times.”

The Commandant was accompanied by

other senior officers of the Academy.

Major General Yerima inspecting quarter guard.

AIR TRAINER PAGE 11
FULANI COMMUNITY Visit HQ TC
T he Air Officer Commanding Training Command, Air Vice
Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar has said that the peaceful
co-existence between the Nigerian Air force and the Fulani
community is aimed at promoting sustainable development and
security consciousness.
AVM Umar made this declaration when he received the Fulani
Community Ruga in his office. He said the visit indicated the
peaceful relationship existing between the community and the
Nigerian Air Force and called for it to be sustained.
AVM Umar however lamented on the incessant clashes between
the Fulani community and farmers and charged their leaders to
ensure their people do not engage in any communal clashes
stressing that such would destroy the existing peace and endanger
the lives of both communities.
12 AIR TRAINER PAGE
by FS Ezekial RM
He charged the Fulani leader to always admonish his people to
desist from encroaching into farm lands that would cause anarchy
and work out modalities that would promote peaceful co-existence
between them.
AVM Umar also told the visitors that, “As part of measures to ensure
the protections of lives and properties, the Base would soon be
fenced to enhance security.” He urged the community to always
report any suspicious occurrence and movement around them.
In his remarks, the Fulani Community leader, Alhaji Mohammed
Idris congratulated the Air Officer Commanding on his well
deserved appointment and prayed for good health and wisdom in
his effort towards taking Training Command to greater heights.
AOC TC, AVM MD Umar and his PSOs in a group photograph
with members of the Fulani community.
T he 345 Aero Medical Hospital (345
AMH) Nigerian Air Force Kaduna have
emerged first position in the year 2009
World Environment Day Celebration.
The occasion is usually organized by the
Kaduna State Environmental Protection
Authority (KEPA) in conjunction with the
By SGT Fanzhi TC
State Ministry of Environmental and Natural
Resources.
It involve the inspection of various work
places in Kaduna with the aim of selecting
the best three environmentally friendly work
place in the State.
In a letter from the organizer and signed by
the General Manager KEPA Alhaji Ibrahim
Hussaini said 345 Aero Medical Hospital
emerge the neatest health care facility in
Kaduna State.
 AIR OFFICER OPERATIONS
FLIES THE AIR BEETLE

AVM AE Okafor accompanied by Gp Capt AB Adekoya

and Wg Cdr FO Edosa heading towards the flight line.
AVM AE Okafor (3rd Right) with other officers before his flight.

AVM AE Okafor entering the AVM AE Okafor inspecting some items

Air Beetle Trainer aircraft. before his flight. AVM Okafor carries out preflight checks.

T
he Air Officer and to manage and operate

AOC TC
Commanding Training
Command, AVM MD
Umar has been inducted into
the Retired Army Navy and Air
Force Officers Club, RANAO,
Kaduna Chapter.
Conducting the induction at
messes and co-operative
societies among others.
Maj Gen AA Mshelbwala
tasked the AOC to “Propagate
the tenet of RANAO in your
Command.”

BECOMES
the Headquarters Nigerian Air
Force Training Command, the
Chairman, Kaduna Chapter of
RANAO, Maj Gen AA
Mshelbwala (RTD)
commended the AOC for his
In response, AVM MD Umar
commended members of the
Club on their good works and
urged them not to rest on their
oars. In his words, “We are
much informed about your

LIFE PATRON OF
sterling qualities and charged
him to contribute his quota to
the growth of the club.
activities now, any assistance
you want from us we will render
and on personal noted, am
grateful to you for deeming it fit

RANAO
Air Vice Marshal Umar was to appoint me as a patron. I will
handed a letter of investiture, a not disappoint you”. The
plaque and a copy of the club's Chairman was accompanied to
constitution. The objectives of the HQ TC by members of his
the club according to the executives.
Chairman is to assist fresh
retirees to adjust to civil life, to
encourage and help members
By

AIR TRAINER PAGE 13

 Pictures of
Senate Committee on NAF
Visit to Training Command The Chairman Senate Commitee on the Air Force,Senator Audu
Idris Mohammed briefing the AOC TC on the purpose of their
visit to HQ TC.

Members of the Senate Committee on Air Force inspecting the Air Beetle Senator Audu Idris Mohammed
Trainer aircraft at 301 Flying Training School, Kaduna. introducing members of his Commitee.

AVM MD Umar pointing at something of interest to the The Committee in company of Commander 345 AMH and AOC TC
Chairman of the Committee on Air Force. inspecting the Aero medical complex in Kaduna.

14 AIR TRAINER PAGE

“Human Errors
Responsible For 35% Domestic Fire
Flt Lt ET Iheoma

Incidents-Commandant Kano State

Fire Service Training School
The Guest lecturer from Kano State Fire Service Training School,
Mallam Ibrahim Hassan delivering his lecture during the training day.
The GOO Air Commodore OJ Oguntoyinbo presenting a plaque to the guest
lecturer Mallam Ibrahim Hassan.
A representative of the Commandant, Kano
State Fire Service Training School, Mallam
Ibrahim Hassan has attributed human
errors to be responsible for 35% of domestic fire
incidents in most homes. Mallam Hassan stated
this recently while delivering an emergency fire
evacuation lecture to officers and men of 303
Flying Training School (303 FTS) Nigerian Air
Force Kano. According to Mallam Hassan, who
was the Guest lecturer during a 303 FTS training
lecture day, some of the preventable human
errors included over-loading of electrical cables,
use of candles, use of boiling rings, negligence in
the use of gas cookers among others.
Speaking further on preventive measures to
minimize fire incidences, the representative of
the Commandant advised personnel to find out
the capacities of watts in sockets before using
them. He also advised them to use Nigerian
made cables which according to him are more
durable than foreign cables.
In the event of fire incident in a military aircraft
prepared for operations, Mallam Hassan advised
personnel to ascertain the types of items inside
the aircraft before entering the aircraft.
According to him, this precaution was necessary
so as to save lives of personnel who may
ignorantly enter aircrafts armed with explosives.
Speaking on the preventive measures to be
observed during fire rescue operations, Mallam
Hassan advised personnel to wear protective
jackets while fighting fire. He also cautioned
personnel not to fight fire from the same direction
of the wind. According to the Guest Lecturer, “it
is safe to maintain a distance of 300 metres from
the fire spot while fighting fire”.
The Representative of the Commandant also
advised smokers to be very circumspect with
cigarette ashes after smoking especially before
going to bed at night. In the same vein, he stated
that keys of every home should be kept at visible
areas where they can be picked to open doors
during an emergency.
Speaking in his closing remarks, the
representative of the Commander 303 Flying
Training School, Air Commodore OT Oguntoyinbo
advised personnel of the Unit to be safety
conscious and also enjoined them to put into
practice preventive measures enumerated by the
Guest Lecturer. According to Air Commodore
Oguntoyinbo, personnel of the Unit should
endeavour to be “fire officers in their homes”.

16 AIR TRAINER PAGE

Dealer and Supplier of all Vehicles, Military Equipment, Petroleum Products,
Motor Cycles such as: Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda e.t.c, Survey Maintenance
Imports and Exports of General Goods
 PICTURES OF VISIT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC COMMITTEE ON
DEFENCE TO 303 FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL, KANO

The Commander 303 FTS (4th right) Air Cdre Ishaku Umar in a group photograph with
members of the Czech Republic Committee on Defence and some principal staff officers.

Comd 303 FTS (right) stressing some point as the leader of the
Comd 303 FTS Kano (right) Air Cdre Ishaku Umar in warm embrace
Czech Republic Committee on Defence Mr Jan Vadin and one other
with one of the legislators from the Czech Republic.
Czech Listens.

Comd 303 FTS, (extreme right) in a chat with some members of Mr Jan Vadin presents a gift to Comd 303 FTS.
the Czech Republic Committee on Defence.

18 AIR TRAINER PAGE

 NIGERIAN AIR FORCE PERSONNEL
In Jos Keep Fit
NIGERIAN AIR FORCE
TO JOIN IN THE BATTLE AGAINST DRUG ABUSE
T
he newly appointed Plateau State Commander of NDLEA,
Barrister Ralph Igwenagu and his staff visited 330 NAF
Station on a courtesy visit in order to improve the cordial
relationship, understanding and co-operation among the two
security agencies. The visit was also in the quest to battle the
increasing rate of drug use and trafficking among youths in Plateau
State. Mr. Igwenagu emphasized that the intake of drugs by
individuals was on the increase especially among youths in
secondary schools and universities. He therefore advocated for
By Fg Offr A Aliyu
330 Nigerian Air force Station and 347 Nigerian
Air Force Hospital held their monthly route march
exercise recently in Jos where officers, airmen and
airwomen under the units trooped out en mass to
participate in the event.
The exercise which is aimed at improving and
maintaining the fitness level of personnel started
at the early hours of 06.00 at the station
headquarters up to Plateau Radio Television
Corporation, Ray field roundabout and back.
The Commander 330 NAF station Jos, Air Cdre IA
Shomade in his words of encouragement and
advice at the exercise explained that such exercise
would be a monthly event in order to achieve
physical fitness and endurance of personnel,
praising them for their turn out. He expressed his
joy over the success of the exercise and
admonished them to ensure they keep fit at all
times.
By Fg Offr A Aliyu
security agencies in Plateau State to put all hands on deck to minimize
the use of illicit drugs. He also lamented that people should pay
attention to the problem illicit drug users and traffickers constitute to
the society.
In his remarks, the Comd 330 NAF Station, Air Commodore IA
Shomade pledged to assist the anti-drug agency to achieve more
result in the war against illicit drugs and suggested that regular
lectures and awareness campaign be done to discourage people from
taking part in such practices.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 19
 325 GTG ACTIVITIES
IN PICTURES Commander 325 GTG (5th from left) Air Cdre JD Daniel in a group photograph
with the Abia State contingent during the KADA games 2009 in Kaduna.

The Comd 325 GTG Air Cdre JD Dania presenting Comd 325 GTG with Ghanian student officers PE Students of 325 GTG on industrial attachment
a gift to Air Cdre EE Osim at the graduation of IPAMOC 12/09. at ASAA Pyramid Hotel.
ceremony of Admin up-grading Course 1/09.

AVM Mohammed Umar and the Comdt AFGCS Jos, Gp Capt The GOC 3rd Armd Div, Maj Gen Saleh Maina and the
Cutting of Cake for 7th Graduation Ceremony Esther Odok at the occasion of the 7th Graduation
Anniversary of AFGCS. AOC TC AVM MD Umar taking their salute during the
Ceremony of AFGCS Jos. POP of AFMS Jos.

330 NAF STATION JOS ACTIVITIES

IN PICTURES

Picture show AVM Dick Iruenabere (middle), GOC 3rd Armd Div
Maj Gen Saleh Maina (left) and SSG Plateau State Nde Samson A cross section of the graduating students of AFGCS Jos.
Dimka (right) at the reception of the POP ceremony of AFMS Jos.

20 AIR TRAINER PAGE

The Best West African
Computer Engineering
Company of the Year 2007

OUR SERVICES:
 By Air Vice Marshal Osita Obierika (Rtd)
Born on 20
S e p t e m b e r,
1952 at Enugu
in the then
Eastern Nigeria,
AVM Osita
Chukwunedu
Obierika hails
from Enugu –
Ukwu in Njikoka
l o c a l
Government
A r e a o f
Anambra State.
He joined the
Nigeria Air Force
as a potential
pilot on 02
January, 1973.
After six months of Military Training, he
proceeded to the Nigerian Air force Base
Kaduna in July 1973 for his Primary Flying
Training at 301 FTS, Kaduna. In December
1974, he commenced Basic Flying Training
on jet provost MK 3A at the No 1 FTS Royal
Air Force, London-on ouse in the United
Kingdom and graduated in September,
1975. On return to Nigeria, he attended the
Basic Transport Flying Course in Kaduna
from January –June 1976. In April 1977, he
was at Germany for Advanced Tactical
Flying Training.
Other courses attended include: Course 10
at the Command and Staff College Jaji,
Aviation Management course at the
Nigerian College of Aviation of Technology
Zaria and Defence resources Management
Course at the Command and Staff College,
Accra Ghana. He also attended the
National war college, Abuja in 1998.
The senior Officer has served in various
capacities in the NAF and DHQ among
which are; Flying Instructor at 301 Flying
Training School, Directing Staff Armed
Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji;
Assistant Director Training (AG) Defence
Headquarters, Abuja; Director of works,
Headquarters Nigerian Air Force.
22 AIR TRAINER PAGE
Other appointments held are; Director of
Electronic Warfare and frequency
management, Defence Headquarters
Abuja Directing Staff (Air) National War
College; Director of National and Military
Strategy, National War College, Abuja;
Defence Adviser Embassy of Nigeria, Paris;
Air Officer Inspections, Headquarters
Nigerian Air Force. Until his retirement, He
was the 22nd Air Officer Commanding
Training Command, Kaduna.
As an experienced trainer and examiner in
Military aviation, the senior officer has
continued to share his experience with
other people through attendance of
seminar and conferences on aviation. As a
participant at the National War College in
1998, the senior officer conducted a
research on “The Establishment of an
integrated search and rescue organization
for Nigeria”.
This led to the senior officers attendance at
a united Nations Sponsored Workshop on
search and Rescue Point of Contact held in
Gran Canaria, Spain in November 1999.
C o n s e q u e n t l y, t h e s e n i o r o f f i c e r
recommended the membership of Nigeria
in the COSPAS-SARSAT programme for SAR
as a user state. AVM Obierika is a member
of the expert committee of the National
Space Research and Development Agency
and was Vice chairman of the
Technical/Logistics Committee of the
National Emergency Management Agency.
AVM Obierika has flown the following types
as aircraft; Plaggio 149D; Bulldog T1; jet
provost MK3A; Do28, D1 D2; Bulldog T1;
Do 128-6; Aer Macchi MB 339. His flight
evaluation includes Do-28 B1; Bravo AS
202; Episilon; Do228; Pilatus PC 6 and 7;
Emb 312 Tucano; Alpha Jet; Mig 21;
Albatross L-39; Hughes 300c and ABT 18.
The senior officer has logged more than
2,000 hrs of flying.
His hobbies include Golf and tennis. He is
married and blessed with 4 children.
Introduction
T he Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD) defines
training as the “act or process of teaching or
learning a skill, discipline etc”. Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia defines training as the acquisition of
knowledge, skill and competences as a result of the
teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge
that relate to specific useful competences. Meanwhile,
Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience
that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or
physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense,
education is the process by which society deliberately
transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values
from one generation to another. Russell has defined
education as the development of an analytical mind to
tackle challenges that are not of routine nature. Thus,
the major difference between training and education is
that training is acquired for a routine job while
education is broad based. However, there are areas of
overlap in different proportions between them.
The Central Flying School handbook on instruction
defines training as the development of knowledge, skill
and appropriate attitude in an individual to accomplish
certain tasks, safely and effectively, without risk to
himself, equipment or other people. This is the sense
in which I would like training to be understood in this
paper. Training of NAF Personnel is a very expensive
business and particularly that of a NAF Pilot, it cost a
great deal in terms of time, energy, money and human
resources. In order to make the training more efficient
and economical, we must ensure that our instruction is
as effective as possible. Furthermore, Training
methods must change from time to time, according to
the training policies which must take cognizance of
rapidly changing situations in the World.
As far as an individual is concerned; success in a
career such as military flying depends on the
possession of two characteristics: aptitude and
motivation. However, the student is only one of the
components of the training system and his/her
chances of success are also affected by organizational
factors, such as the training policy in operation at any
given time.
 Factors Influencing Success
Serial Goals Student Characteristics
(a) (b) (c)
1. Numbers Aptitude
2. Standards Motivation
3. Costs Age
4. Time Education
Fig 1
Source: Central Flying School, Instructor Handbook
Training in the NAF denotes the act of teaching or learning skills peculiar to
NAF specialties by its personnel. NAF recognizes training as a veritable tool
that can facilitate the effective performance of its personnel. Thus, the
Executive Regulation Chapter 9, Paragraph 904 (a) provides that Officers,
Warrant Officers and Non–Commissioned Officers are to be trained to high
standard of general service effectiveness, so that they may be fit to assume their
fundamental responsibilities of command and leadership. In the modern day
Armed Forces, there are many challenges in terms of technology and battle
concept. For NAF to realize its optimum potential, there is need to equip its
personnel with sufficient skills, knowledge and right attitude for effective
performance.
The relevance of a training policy could be judged by the extent to which it
meets the training needs of the organization. A training need could be
interpreted as a gap, shortfall or deficiency between the kind of performance or
competence that a worker is expected to have and the competence he or she has.
At the organizational level, set objectives and goals of the organization are
compared with those achieved. Therefore, organizational training needs exist,
if the gap or shortfall so identified can be corrected through a systematic
training.
The NAF has formulated training policies and guidelines to facilitate effective
training of its personnel. However, the current state of training programmes
and personnel disposition suggest that all is not well with the implementation of
the training policies. Thus for NAF to perform its statutory role efficiently, it
has to address the problems inhibiting effective training. Consequently, the
Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force selected the theme “Enhancing NAF
Operational Capability Through Effective Training” for a research paper at the
National Defence College Abuja. Consequently, this paper will discuss N A F
Statutory Role and its present capability, training needs to meet manning
requirements and training in 2 foreign air forces. The paper will also take a look
at optimizing local training vis-à-vis overseas training and the way forward or
strategies to improve efficiency in training before concluding.
NAF Statutory Role. Essentially, the objectives for which the NAF
was established are:
a. To deter any action that may threaten or is likely to threaten the
security of the country by the employment of air power.
b. To conduct aerial Warfare with intensity and effectiveness that will
enhance the attainment of national objectives when other options fail or where
the national interests so demand.
c. To assist other governmental agencies in dealing with national
emergencies and/or natural disasters within and possibly outside the territorial
frontiers of Nigeria.
It can be noted, that if NAF can ever hope to achieve these objectives, it must
Organizational Characteristics Remarks
(d) (e)
Training Methods
Syllabus Content
Staff
Wastage Policy
strive to maintain at all times a state of combat readiness, such that it possesses
the force level capable to deter war or conflict, and where deterrence fails, to be
in a position to fight and win the air war.
To achieve the objectives discussed, the NAF procured the following aircraft;
a. MiG-21 MF & Bis for air defence and reconnaissance.
b. Jaguar for interdiction, and reconnaissance.
c. Alpha Jet for weapon's training and close air support.
d. Aer Macchi MB 339 for basic and advanced training and close
air sipport.
e. Albatross L-39 for Basic training.
f. F-27m for maritime patrol and reconnaissance.
g. G-222 for medium and tactical transport.
h. C-130H for tactical and strategic transport roles.
i. BO-105 for close air support, antitank role and liaison duties.
j. DO 128-6/DO 228 for basic tpt conversion and liaison duties.
k. Puma for battle space troops movement and VIP flights.
l. Hughes 530C for primary Helicopter training.
m. Bulldog for primary flying training.
A look at the above aircraft holding would suggest a corresponding increase in
the level of human resources and training required for operating and maintain
the aircraft. This was the period of the 70s to 80s and aptly described as the
Golden Era of the NAF. In the 90s, two more aircraft types; Mi 34 and Mi 35
were added to the inventory while MiGs, Jaguars, F-27m, BO 105, Hughes
530C and Bulldog ac were withdrawn from svc. However, the Bulldog ac was
replaced with the Air Beetle ABT-18. At present, the NAF capability is greatly
reduced on account of the above action. However, there is hope that when the
MB339, G-222, and Puma aircraft types in Europe are refurbished and
upgraded, the NAF capability will be improved.
Present Capability in Training. At present, training is going on at 325GTG in
both recruit and other admin professional courses. The AFIT is running its
regular courses; the 301 and 303 FTS seem to be conducting courses but the 305
FTS has remained dormant for years. The 99 AWS has been very epileptic in its
training activities. Therefore, it can be concluded that the NAF training is
performing well below the expected curve.
AFP-248 stipulates that the ab-initio pilot training shall be conducted within 6
months. It consists of 2 phases, which are a 12 – 13 weeks ground academics
phase and a 50-hour flying phase. However, the duration of the flying phase
has been varying between 50 and 100 hours. For instance, in 1983, Student
Pilot Course 26 flew a 100 hours programme. This was attributed to the poor
serviceability of L-29 aircraft which the course was to use for basic training at
303 Flying Training School (303 FTS), Kano. However, when aircraft
serviceability at 303 FTS improved following the introduction of the MB-339
and later L-39 aircraft as the basic trainer, the 100 hours flying programme at
AIR TRAINER PAGE 23
301 Flying Training School (301 FTS) was again reduced to 50 hours.
Since inception, 301 FTS Kaduna has produced over 600 students for the
Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy and some sister African countries. At
present, the school has only 2 instructor pilots current on the ABT-18 ac
expecting 26 student pilots of SP Course 26. This translates to instructor
pilot/student ratio of 1:4:5 as against the standard ration 1:2:5. The low
instructor pilot disposition is a major factor prolonging the period of training.
For instance, Student Pilot Course (SPC) 32, which started training in Oct 1999
made only 22 hours after 15 months of training, unlike in 1978, when SPC 18
completed same course in 5 months. Other factors causing delay include
weather conditions. Although, in the past 5 years, the situation took a different
dimension. Students Pilots commence training and after 5% stage, they are sent
overseas either to the USA, Belarus or the UK. Therefore, the implementation
of the training policy on ab-initio pilot training is inadequate. Consequently,
the NAF needs to provide enough resources for effective implementation of the
policies.
BASIC FLYING TRAINING
The Basic Flying Course (BFC) is a 120 hours programme to be conducted in 13
months. 303 FTS Kano is charged with its implementation. So far, 303 FTS
has produced 105 pilots. Intake into the BFC does not follow any regular
pattern due to the irregular turn out of student pilots from 301 FTS. The BFC
programme comprises one month ground academics and 12 months flying
phase.
The 13 month training period was adhered to with only slight variations until
1992. Between 1992 and 1998 there was no flying training as some of the
instructor pilots were withdrawn for ECOMOG operations in Liberia and Sierra
Leone. In addition, the school faced problems of low aircraft serviceability and
irregular fuel supply. Consequently, BFC 12 A that convened at 303 FTS in
Feb 1993 for basic flying training covered only 70% of the programme, 8 years
after the course started. Thus, pilots that could be engaged in operational
squadron flying were still undergoing flying training after 15 years in the
Service. In the past, 303 FTS had graduated pilots within 13 months as
stipulated by the training policy. For instance, BFC 1 started training in Jun
1979 and completed the training in Jul 1980. The students earned their
wings as pilot officers with just 6 months seniority in the rank. Consequently,
the pilots had many active years of flying in the NAF.
A case study of 12 of the 27 students of SP 31 who, graduated from 301 FTS in
Jan 2000 stayed for 4 years before basic training in Kano. Some of them were
already squadron leaders. Going by the training rate at 303 FTS Kano, they
earned their wings as Wing Commanders. Consequently, they have limited
years of active flying in the Service. Meanwhile, the remaining 15 members of
the course were re-coursed to Basic Flying Transport Course (BFTC). The
students started instruments and navigation flying on 15 May 2000 on the
extended version of the Air Beetle Aircraft. They made an average of 10 hours.
This was preparatory to further training on DO-228 aircraft. This measure
24 AIR TRAINER PAGE
reduced the backlog of students awaiting basic training at 303 FTS. However,
going direct to Basic Flying Transport Course denied the 15 student pilots of jet
experience. This would inhibit the chances of re-rolling the pilots to the jet
aircraft in future. These examples indicate that the provisions of AFP-248 are
not being adequately implemented.
HELICOPTER PILOT TRAINING
The AFP-248 stipulates that pilots designated for helicopter flying shall
commence the ab-initio helicopter training after primary flying training at 301
FTS. The helicopter training comprises a 50-hour ab-initio training and 70
hours basic training each starting with ground school. On completion, the pilot
proceeds for conversion and captaincy training. The practice of moving the
students from primary flying direct to helicopter has made it impossible to re-
role NAF helicopter pilots to fly fixed-wing aircraft. Besides, it does not allow
for flexibility and limits the deployability of helicopter pilots in the NAF.
Consequently, the Service could review this policy.
Before the establishment of 305 Flying Training School, Enugu, students were
sent overseas for helicopter training. So far, 6 batches of helicopter pilots have
been trained overseas the last which graduated in 1983. The pilots were well
trained and very competent in the operation of NAF helicopters.
In 1986, the NAF acquired the Hughes 300C helicopters, which were deployed
to 305 FTS, Enugu, for ab-initio helicopter training. The school trained only
one course since inception. The course started in 1987 with 14 students while
11 graduated in 1991. On graduation, the pilots were made to fly more hours on
the Hughes 300C because the Bolkow BO-105 Helicopters were unserviceable,
However, training on the Hughes 300C helicopter later stopped due to non-
availability of AVGAS.
In 1999, the graduates from 305 FTS flew 12 hours on the Mi-34 Helicopter in
Russia. It is pertinent to mention that these pilots have flown just an average of
175 hours in their flying career. Although, the training policy on the local
training of helicopter pilots is good, the capability of those locally trained has
not been assessed due to non-availability of aircraft. The procurement of the
Mi-34 trainer and Mi-35 attack helicopters by the NAF is commendable.
However, the problems associated with the Mi-34 have made the ac unusable
for training purpose. If 305 FTS is to perform its functions, a new trainer should
be procured while more instructors be trained.
ADVANCED FLYING TRAINING
The term advanced flying training in this context implies any further flying
training given to pilots after graduating from basic flying training. This is
conducted on the Alpha-Jet for fighter, DO-228 for transport and Mi 35 for
helicopter pilots. AFP-248 stipulates a duration of 6 months and 50 flying
hours for the tactical fighter training. The 99 Air Weapon School, (AWS),
Kainji, is charged with the training of NAF fighter pilots for the award of limited
combat rating. The school was established in 1984 to train qualified pilots
from 303 FTS on the Alpha Jet aircraft.
The tactical fighter training comprises the ground academics phase and the
flying phase. The School has produced 48 pilots so far. However, training
stopped in 1992 when the instructor Pilots were involved in the ECOMOG
operations. Besides, there were no spares to maintain the Alpha Jet.
Consequently, course 1/90 that started training in 1990 did not graduate until
1998, thereafter, training on the A-Jet has been in the limbo. This is at variance
with the provision of the NAF training policy. From the foregoing, pilot training
in the NAF has suffered setbacks in its implementation. The laudable initiative
of sourcing overseas slots in the US, UK and Ukraine in the last 3 years is
commendable and will definitely bridge the gap. We must come up with a
definite plan and policy on both local and foreign training. A combination of
both will go a long way in addressing the pilot training issue.
IMPLEMENTATION OF AIR ENGINEERING TRAINING
PROGRAMMES
INITIAL SPECIALIST TRAINING
The initial specialist training comprises the Engineering Officers' Basic Course,
to be undertaken immediately after commission. It has the objective of training
officers in the principles and practice of engineering. It lasts 2 years. T h e
NAF in its early years conducted this training overseas. The programme,
though expensive, had laid a good foundation for the subsequent training of
technicians up to skilled HR needs of the service. In 1977, Technical Training
Group (TTG), now AFIT after going through 320 TTG, Kaduna, was
established to conduct local training in basic aircraft engineering. Since its
inception, the School has trained over 3000 officers and airmen in
aeromechanical, electrical and instruments, avionics engineering and
armament maintenance amongst others. Therefore, AFIT has contributed
immensely to the implementation of the training policy.
At present, the Engineering Officers Basic Course has been replaced with the
Orientation Engineering Officers Course. The course runs for a period of 18
months. The course content is the same as Basic Engineering Officer Course
except for the 6 months general academic programme that has been dropped
from the curriculum. Unfortunately, the officer's orientation course is fraught
with problems. Among them is the lack of qualified instructors. The NAF
could take steps to improve on the standard by employing qualified civilian
instructors.
Another area of concern is the shortfall in the number of junior engineering
officers. The Air Engineering trade has a total of over 250 officers and over
1,200 technicians. Most of the officers are within the Squadron Leader to Air
Vice Marshal rank bracket. The shortfall has been attributed to the fact that the
programme is not strictly designed to produce engineering officers alone. It
also serves as a stopgap measure for the students awaiting flying training in 301
FTS. This practice is militating against getting the right quantity and quality of
officers for the Air Engineering trade. Therefore, consideration could be given
to candidates who are suitably qualified to pursue a career in Air Engineering
trade when selecting NAF cadets for admission into the Nigerian Defence
Academy (NDA). This would guarantee a better quality of engineering officers
than is presently obtained by relying on dropouts from flying schools.
ENGINEERING OFFICERS ADVANCED COURSE
The AFP-248 provides for engineering officers advanced course comprising
mainly type rating programmes on specific aircraft types and equipment. The
training was mostly conducted overseas. In 1989, overseas training was
replaced with local Type Rating Course. So far, the programme has been
successfully carried out on the C-130H, MiG-21, Alpha-Jet, L-39ZA and the
Dornier series aircraft. In addition, more NAF technicians are involved in the
local PDM thus providing an opportunity for on-the-job training. For example,
5 officers and 44 technicians are involved in the on-going in-country PDM on 2
x C-130H aircraft at Ikeja as against one officer and 5 technicians recently sent
abroad for PDM on the same number of aircraft. Another advantage of the in-
country PDM is the opportunity to carry out in-depth maintenance into aircraft
systems and components by NAF technicians which was hitherto the exclusive
reserve of the overseas vendors. Consequently, the technicians became better
exposed thereby gaining more experience on the aircraft. Therefore, the NAF
could incorporate in-depth training for depot level aircraft maintenance in its
training policy.
To enhance the implementation of PDM programme, the 401 Aircraft
Maintenance Depot could be made to serve as its nucleus. The Nigerian Air
Force would, therefore, need to upgrade the facilities at the Depot. Some
personnel could be sent abroad for in-depth training to form the pioneer
maintenance team for the PDM. The Nigerian Machine Tools (NMT), Oshogbo,
and Project Development Authority (PRODA), Enugu, have been
commissioned to produce some ground support equipment for the C-130 and
MiG-21 aircraft, respectively. These companies could be integrated into the
PDM programme, and an affiliation with the Air Force Institute of Technology
(AFIT). From the foregoing, it is evident that, unlike pilot training, the
implementation of engineering training has been fairly consistent with the
provision of AFP-248.
SHORT FALLS
Inadequate Logistics Support
A training policy can only be relevant if necessary logistics supports are
provided to facilitate the training efforts. Most of the equipment in the NAF
training schools are either serviceable or unserviceable. The shortage of
aircraft spares, irregular fuel supply and poor funding have reduced pilot
training in the NAF to an epileptic state. Thus AFP-248 provisions are not being
met.
Similarly, AFIT is still grappling with the problems of inadequate training aid
and lack of trained instructors in the Officers Engineering School and
Armament School. Consequently, the training policies that produced the best
pilots and engineers in the NAF in 1970s and 80s are not yielding same results
today due to poor logistics support to NAF
Training Institutions.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 25
INADEQUATE FUNDING
NAF training efforts are not adequately funded. The allocation of Defence
budget to the Services based on numerical strength rather than the complexity
and sophistication of equipment has led to inadequate funding of NAF projects.
For instance, it costs about 1.73 million naira to train one pilot in primary flying,
whereas only 28 million naira was released to HQ TC for local training in the
year 2000. In 2005, N65 million, 2006, a sum of N120 million, 2007 a sum of
N135 million and 2008, N150 million. This implies that only few student pilots
could ideally be trained in primary flying with those amounts. Furthermore, the
fund had to be spread over other essential training activities in the various
Groups under Command. Thus, leading to shortages and prolonged
programmes.
LOW TECHNOLOGICAL BASE
Nigeria does not have the technology to meet the challenges of the aviation
industry. Rather, it relies on the developed countries for aircraft spares usually
procured at exorbitant cost. Unfortunately, the NAF does not have adequate
foreign exchange to procure needed spares. Consequently, aircraft are
grounded for lack of spares.
It is pertinent to observe that other third world countries with manufacturer's
certification like Bangladesh have been able to sustain their flying training
programmes through the use of local spare parts substitutes. Therefore, NAF
could emulate these countries by eliciting the political will of the Federal
Government to include certification in its purchasing agreement. This would
enable Nigeria to involve its indigenous companies in NAF aircraft
maintenance. As AOI, the NAF sent all ac type batteries to Ibeto Industry at
Nnewi for local production. It is interesting to note that the Mi 35 aircraft are
flying with batteries produced by the company. This could be cheaper and also
enhances training policy implementation.
OVERVIEW OF TRAINING BETWEEN 1971 AND 1998
In the period between 1971 and 1988, the NAF invested in developing the
appropriate Human Resources (HR) for its needs. The period also witnessed a
NAF HR development policy amendment that introduced the Potential
Pilot/Cadet Military Training Course (CMTC) Scheme in addition to the NDA
Regular intakes. The scheme enabled pilots to attain their wings at very young
ages and to also train as instructors while junior officers.
During the period, the NAF introduced new platforms like the Jaguar, Alpha Jet,
MB-339, L-39, G-222 and some helicopters. There was, thus, a need for the
NAF to develop HR to fit into many roles. Accordingly, basic and advanced
pilot training were conducted in the United States of America, Great Britain,
Germany, Russia, Italy, Czechoslovakia and some other countries.
The need to maintain these platforms and associated equipment necessitated
training engineering officers and technicians in-country and overseas.
Personnel who provide operations-related and ancillary services like Air Traffic
Control and Regiment duties were also trained locally and overseas. The use of
Technical Assistance Group (TAG) personnel in our training institutions helped
a great deal.
The establishment of TTG in 1977 facilitated in-country training of engineering
officers and technicians. The School, at inception, benefited from the presence
of Technical Assistance Group personnel and was able to turn out high quality
graduates. The training received at TTG was complemented by overseas
training thus, establishing a sound engineering footing for the NAF.
Capacity in flying training, from overseas and local sources, gradually built up,
culminating in the NAF attaining its best pilot to aircraft ratio since inception.
At 303 FTS for example, there were up to 13 Instructor Pilots available to
operate a daily average of 8 to 10 serviceable aircraft in 1992. However, the
period 1988 to 1998, witnessed a gradual decline in instructor availability in the
NAF. A combination of factors including a deliberate policy of neglect by some
past governments, the general politicisation of the military as a result of the
military's involvement in governance, poor leadership and the impact of
Nigeria's poor economic situation at that time, all combined to stunt the growth
and development of the NAF. Soewu lends credence to the above assertion
26 AIR TRAINER PAGE
when he stated that national planning not commensurate with resources, loss of
focus and lack of training, facilitated the decline in HR. In addition, sanctions
imposed on Nigeria by the international community between 1993 and 1997
negatively affected the production of adequate Human Resources.
The effects of the sanctions were that the NAF could no longer obtain the spares
needed to make its training platforms operational. Also, local and overseas
training almost come to a halt. This led to backlog in the flying training schools
that caused a general loss of interest in flying. For instance, there was no flying
activity in 303 FTS between December 1992 and April 1998. This led to
disinterest and apathy in the student pilots who had been waiting to commence
flying training in 303 FTS since 1992. Hence, a few of these prospective pilots
opted out of flying. Consequently, HR erosion occurred and the NAF could no
longer meet the required HR levels for its roles. The NAF, therefore, evolved
some strategies to ameliorate the situation. These included cooperative
alliances with countries like India and Pakistan for training, the intensification
of efforts at conducting LOTRAC and the establishment of Instructor Pilot
School in 303 FTS to train instructor pilots locally.
These efforts, however, did not produce the desired results because capacity has
been eroded through personnel attrition, inappropriate postings, ageing,
retirement and non-replacement of experienced SNCO's. Also, since 1988, the
use of TAG personnel, which has usually complemented the efforts of Nigerian
instructors, has been reduced to only assisting NAF personnel deployed to the
Mi-34C and Mi-35P helicopters.
HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT FROM 1999 TO 2008
The period 1998 to 2006 witnessed a gradual rebuilding of NAF assets and HR.
Training resumed in most training units. The reactivation of some aircraft fleets
has made it possible for flying training to be carried out leading to reduction of
the backlog in the flying schools. Other measures adopted to reduce the backlog
in the flying schools included; releasing student pilots, who already had trades,
from flying training and selecting a limited number of student pilots from each
NDA course for pilot training. These measures were to be in effect until the
required capacity for training a larger number of student pilots could be
achieved.
Human Resources development efforts in helicopter pilot training have not
yielded the desired results. Although, a set of helicopter pilots completed
training in 2003, flying training activities at 305 FTS have been suspended since
2004. The issue of capacity is a major problem as the unit has only one instructor
pilot who has been inactive for some time.
Human Resources to provide instruction and inadequate infrastructure have
been the perennial problems of AFIT and GTG - the non-flying training schools.
These have affected the HR development efforts of the schools. For instance,
AFIT requires qualified civilian instructors/lecturers and technical staff to meet
the accreditation requirements, it must fulfill for the National Board for
Technical Education's (NBTE) accreditation which will enable the institution
conduct National Diploma programmes in Aircraft Engineering Technology,
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering and Business
Studies. Though AFIT has been accredited for 4 courses, the advantages of
accreditation for the remaining courses include; improved quality of training
through inputs from similar organizations, contacts with professional
organizations like the Nigerian Society of Engineers and exposure to seminars
and workshops as AFIT would acquire the status of a polytechnic. Other
advantages include reduction in cost of attending overseas seminars and
workshops and increased awareness of the research and development activities
of AFIT as the Unit would be able to attract funding from local and international
technical bodies.
Attempts to rebuild the flying training have yielded the desired results. In
2002, out of the 192 pilots that were available, only about 38 (representing
20% of the strength) were actively flying, while the remainder were not
operationally active for various reasons ranging from seniority in rank,
medical unfitness and loss of flying currency due to lack of serviceable
aircraft. As at 2006, the number of available pilots rose to 210 out of which
126 (representing 60%) were active.
 Number of Pilots
Figure 2: Rank Distribution of Actively Flying Pilots as at March 2006.
Source: Generated from HQ NAF Data
Figure 2 shows the distribution of actively flying pilots in the NAF as at March
2006. Though this shows a gradual improvement in the development of HR to
meet NAF's pilot needs, the distribution indicates that the majority of active
pilots are in the rank bracket of Group Captain and Wing Commander. These
Number of Pilots
Figure 3: Comparison between the Establishment Requirement and Available Pilot Manpower in the NAF.
Source: Generated from HQ NAF Data
constitutes the middle level HR which is the main work force in the NAF. Using
Figure 3, only 63.86% of the pilot requirement for Wing Commander rank has
been met while 4.88% of Squadron Leader, 0.46% of Flight Lieutenant and 0%
of Flying Officer pilot requirement are met. The lack of active pilots in the rank
bracket of Squadron Leader and Flying Officer shows that generation gaps have
been created in the flying cadre. A disconnection between the objectives of the
NAF training policy and the results of implementation of the policy is also
apparent. The question then is, “Is the Training Policy defective?” To answer
this question, there is a need to determine the appropriateness of the guidelines
by analysing the NAF Training Policy (AFP 248).
THE NAF CAREER PROGRESSION AND TRAINING POLICY
The AFP 248 sets guidelines for training aircrew, logistics and other support
elements for the NAF. The guidelines set for pilot (primary and basic) training
and engineering training, and the implementation of the guidelines would be
used to measure the effectiveness of training towards achieving the required
sets of pilots are ageing and a means of injecting young pilots into the system
needs to be evolved. In contrast to Figure 2, Figure 3 shows the disparity
between total pilot requirement in the rank bracket of Wing Commander and
Flight Lieutenant and the total number of pilots available. This rank bracket
capacity to meet NAF operational requirements.
PILOT TRAINING
AFP 248 prescribes 9, 18 and 6 months for Primary, Basic and Advanced
training for pilots on fixed wing aircraft. This means that in the 21-year period
between 1985 and 2006, 301 FTS should have conducted 26 primary flying
training courses, whereas, only 9 courses were conducted, representing 34.7%
of AFP 248 recommendations. Furthermore, at an average of 30 trainees per
course and a washout rate of 30%, 301 FTS could have trained 520 ab-initio
Student Pilots (SP) instead of 209 trained, representing 40.2% of expected
output. This was also accomplished at an average of 2 years and 4 months per
course. The failure to implement the provisions of AFP 248 is attributable to the
effect of sanctions and the resultant reduction in training capacity following the
withdrawal of TAG from 301 FTS. Additionally, inadequate in-country
Instructor Training capacity affected Pilot Production. Figure 4 shows the
breakdown of SP courses conducted in 301 FTS during the period.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 27
 Number of SPs Trained
Figure 4: SP Courses and Number of SP Trained in 301 FTS.
Source: 301 FTS Data.
From the above, training during the period failed to meet the HR guidelines set
in AFP 248. Since 301 FTS is the source of materials for pilot training in 303
FTS and 305 FTS, failure to meet requirements in 301 FTS would ultimately
affect training efforts in the 2 schools
In the same time frame, 303 FTS conducted only 5 courses instead of 15
representing 33.33% of AFP 248 guidelines. Also, at an average of 20 SPs per
course and a washout rate of 20%, 303 FTS could have trained 240 pilots instead
Number of Pilots Trained
Figure 5: Number of Pilots Trained in 303 FTS (1985 – 2002).
Source: 303 FTS Unit Information Book.
The disparities noted in the analysis of Primary and Basic flying training
culminated in the backlogs experienced in 301 and 303 FTS. Thus, young and
agile pilots required for combat duty are inadequate. The inability to meet the
training and developmental provisions of AP 248 has led to deficiencies
when pilots' skill levels, which are low, are compared with their ranks.
The capacity to train has also been eroded because the Instructor Pilot School
(IPS), established in 1987, has only conducted 3 courses instead of 25,
representing 12% of expected results. Thus, only 14 Instructor Pilots have been
trained. Reasons for the suspension of training in IPS include loss of focus in the
establishment of IPS, non-posting of Instructors to the School and lack of
aircraft to conduct training.
Training of helicopter pilots, as earlier noted, has not yielded the desired results.
28 AIR TRAINER PAGE
of 72 trained, representing 30% of expected results at an average of 4 years per
course. This is attributable to the fact that 303 FTS could not conduct flying
training activities between 1992 and 1998 on account of a decline in training
capacity due to sanctions and the withdrawal of TAG personnel. Figure 5 is a
pictorial representation of the Basic Flying Courses (BFC) and number of pilots
trained in 303 FTS between 1985 and 2002.
The 305 FTS was established in 1984 but has suffered from policy
inconsistencies leading to its de-establishment in 1991 and re-establishment in
2000. During this period, it has trained 17 helicopter pilots in 2 courses; Basic
Helicopter Flying Course 1 (1987 – 1994) and Course 2 (2000 – 2003).
Helicopter training has also failed to meet the HR guidelines in AFP 248 which
stipulates 12 months for completion of the course. Moreover, the skill level of
the graduates of the 2 courses so far trained are quite low as most of them have
an average of 200 flying hours at the rank of Group Captain.
ENGINEERING TRAINING
The TTG was established in 1977 to facilitate in-country training of officers and
airmen for logistics functions. AFP 248 stipulates a 12-month Initial
Engineering Course and Advanced Engineering Course for Engineering
Officers. Between 1985 and 2006, TTG was able to conduct 16 Initial
Aeromechanical and Electrical/Electronics Engineering Courses thus,
achieving 76.6% of its expected output. It has also conducted 7 Basic Armament
Courses for officers and 12 Armament Maintenance Courses for airmen.
However, it was found that the development of engineering personnel did not
progress in accordance with AFP 248 due to the lack of advanced engineering
training. The lack of serviceable aircraft for On-the-Job-Training and lack of
LOTRAC continuity have reduced the skill level of engineering personnel
when compared with their ranks.
DEDUCTIONS
The HR development provisions in AFP 248, if effectively implemented, are
adequate to ensure skilled personnel for NAF needs. However, the paper found
that HR and skill levels in the pilot and engineering specialties are inadequate.
The study also found that the lack of capacity has hindered HR development.
The use of TAG to complement local training capacity was discontinued by
1996 due to the effect of sanctions and other factors. The advantages of
experience level, focused work ethics and improvement in standards derivable
from the use of TAG in training cannot be discounted. There is a need for the
NAF to revisit the issue of TAG. The study also found that the majority of active
pilots and experienced engineering personnel are in the rank bracket of Group
Captain and Wing Commander. These sets of personnel are ageing, hence,
personnel to replace them need to be developed. Nevertheless, the inability of
the NAF to achieve its HR development goals is attributable to challenges
which impede training efforts.
TRAINING NEED TO MEET MANNING REQUIREMENTS
In order to meet the manning requirements of the NAF both local and foreign
training must be pursued aggressively. The option of engagement in local or
foreign training depends on a number of factors. Chief among these are the
quest for self reliance and the availability of facilities and relevant technology.
Other considerations include the cost/benefit standing, government policies
and the needs for international exposure.
The need for international exposure and cross-fertilisation of ideas is often a
strong reason for conducting some training courses abroad instead of locally. It
is also a strategy for keeping the Force abreast with the latest technology, tactics
and procedures. Training venue is also often influenced by government
foreign policy. These policies manifest in the form of training aids and bilateral
technical assistance agreement.
A principal factor that determines training location is cost. Cost must be
weighed against benefit. An overseas training slot that appears expensive but
offers high quality training might be a better option than a local training slot for
the same course, which would cost less but may not offer good quality training.
Cost and technological competence are linked to self reliance. It is, therefore,
necessary to look at self reliance and its technological implications on local
training more closely.
SELF RELIANCE
Ikoku traces the origin of the concept of self reliance to Africa and the Far
East, contrary to the claims of some Western nations that it was first articulated
by Western scholars. He described it as the “right to decide and choose”. Mao
Tse-Tung referred to it as “regeneration through our own efforts”. By way of a
definition, however, the following statement on the concept of self reliance
released at a symposium by developing countries in 1973 remains highly
illuminating:
“In operational terms, self-reliance … is to be
understood at the national level of each developing country,
as the will to build up and use a capacity for autonomous
decision-making and implantation on all aspects of the
development process including science and technology”.
Furthermore, Aliyu perceives self reliance as a national value. According to
him:
“The principle of self-reliance reflects, fundamentally, our
sense of ourselves as a nation. It does not reflect a lack of
confidence in our allies nor does it suggest that we would
not seek help and expect help from our friends and allies in
times of need”.
From the foregoing, the essence of self reliance is national autonomy in
decision making but does not preclude seeking foreign assistance in special
cases. Local training is more directly linked with technological self reliance
since training largely involves developing skills for employing sophisticated
equipment in war.
There is no definite benchmark for determining technological self-reliance.
However, Krause suggests that a level of military technological capability that
is limited to operation and maintenance of war equipment remains highly
dependent. This implies, as deduced by Faloyin, that technological self reliance
involves equipment and spare parts fabrication or production capability.
According to Noshiri; technological self-reliance is a function of factors such as
HR, welfare, conducive working environment, equipment and infrastructure,
knowledge and skill including spare parts and other working materials. He
concludes that it is only when these factors are organized to function efficiently
for the attainment of set industrial goals that they together form an
indispensable vehicle with which technological self-reliance is conveyed and
measured.
For simplicity, these factors could be narrowed down. Welfare, knowledge and
skill are prerequisites of effective personnel and could be subsumed under HR.
Similarly, conducive working environment is the outcome of having the right
equipment and infrastructure in place, while spare parts are for sustaining
equipment. Therefore, technological self reliance is basically a function of
adequate HR, equipment, and infrastructure. Invariably, these 3 key factors
encapsulate the prerequisites for adequate military training. Thus, an adequate
level of technological self reliance is a prerequisite for military training. It
follows that local training would be difficult, if not impossible, for nations that
have not achieved adequate level of self reliance in a given field.
Imperatively, while developing nations embark on local training in a bid to be
self-reliant, they must attain technological self reliance first, if this aspiration is
to be truly realized. The impact of self reliance on training is as much on
engineering as it is on flying training, however that of pilot training appears
more manifest in operations. The next section therefore, looks at flying training
in the Royal Air Force and the Ghana Air Force with technological self reliance
in perspective.
PILOT TRAINING IN THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
Flying Training in the Royal Air Force (RAF) aims at producing pilots and
navigators capable of meeting the complex demands of a modern, multi-role Air
Force. After Initial Officer Training (IOT), pilots who have not received
elementary flying training at a University Air Squadron (UAS) undergo an
Elementary Flying Training (EFT) course on light piston aircraft at the Joint
Elementary Flying Training Squadron (JEFS). Whether trained at a UAS or
JEFTS, after completing this phase, students are channeled for Fast-Jet, Rotary
Wing (helicopter) or Multi-Engine training depending on their performance and
inclination.
Those selected for Fast-Jet training proceed to the Basic Flying Training School
(BFTS) where they are prepared for Fast-Jet Advanced Flying Training. Those
selected for helicopters go directly to the Defence Helicopter Flying School for
Rotary Wing Advanced Flying Training. Those selected for multi-engine
(transport) training attend a short Multi-engine Lead-in Course on a light
aircraft, followed by Multi-Engine Advance Flying Training. Student pilots are
awarded their wings either at the end of BFTS, Rotary Wing Advanced Flying or
Multi-Engine Advanced flying as appropriate. All pilots proceed to their
appropriate operational conversion units (OCU). Navigation training follows a
similar pattern.
In the fast jet track, the pilot training programme including the OCU takes about
AIR TRAINER PAGE 29
3 years. Three flying schools, RAF Linton-on-Ouse, Cranwell and Shawbury
produce the RAF's annual pilot requirement of 137 pilots on schedule. The
training is conducted with aircraft manufactured in Britain. Aircraft, simulators
and other aerospace equipment maintenance in the flying training institutions
are outsourced to indigenous civil organizations.
The RAF training model, among other qualities provides for timely and regular
completion of training modules. The country has the technological
infrastructure to produce and maintain its training equipment hence; it does not
rely much on other nations. Therefore, its training programmes are
uninterrupted. Moreover, funding is adequate and regular, it is note worthy also
that one institution handles all helicopter pilot training for all the UK Armed
Forces.
PILOT TRAINING IN THE GHANA AIR FORCE
After the establishment of the Ghanaian Air Force (GAF), training in the Force
commenced both locally and overseas depending on the necessity. In 1965,
GAF decided to localize part of her flying training programme in order to
achieve a measure of self reliance. Hence, the Hindustan HT 2 aircraft was
procured from India for screening potential flying cadets. The successful cadets
were then sent to RAF Ternhill, UK for further training. In 1990, GAF received
some L 29 basic flying training aircraft from Nigeria. Thus, local flying training
up to basic level was boosted. Hence, GAF was able to train pilots locally. She
even became self reliant in pilot production, but it was to be short-lived.
Over the years, however, GAF could not sustain the local flying training
programme. This was largely due to lack of spare parts and shortage of aviation
fuel. It had to look elsewhere for flying training needs. According to Lawson,
Ghana had inadequate aerospace related infrastructure and the technological
base to sustain its fleet of training aircraft along with the operational fleet.
Reviving and sustaining the training fleet would cost more than training the few
pilots required by the Service abroad annually. Currently, the GAF trains her
pilots in foreign countries, on return; they are converted unto local aircraft.
GAF thus resorted to foreign training of its aircrew based on inadequate
infrastructure and the country's low technological base, a situation that was
escalating the cost of training pilots locally. GAF appears to have realized the
futility of localizing pilot training without the requisite technological base.
OPTIMIZING LOCAL TRAINING VIS-À-VIS OVERSEAS TRAINING
From inception, the NAF trained its pilots, engineers and admin personnel
overseas. The era 1971 – 1988 witnessed the high point of sound overseas
training complemented with local training. The Nigerian Air Force cannot be
isolated from the International military aviation. The reason is that we are not
very much research based. Even the developed Air Forces still run exchange
programmes among themselves notably. USAF, RAF, GAF, French Air Force,
and even Indian Air Force. I am aware that the unpleasant exchange rate of the
Naira to the US dollar N155 to US$ 1 negatively affected overseas training. In
my time, 1973 – 1975 the exchange rate was 60k to US$1. In fact, money was
no object.
Notwithstanding the above, the NAF must continue to send some smart
personnel abroad to receive the state of the art training and exposure. The
personnel should be debriefed when they come back; to see what the NAF can
adapt from such personnel's training experience. Most importantly, instructors
from the various trade groups should continue to be exposed to overseas
training for maximum benefits to the NAF. Our local training must be given a
pride of place in NAF budgetary allocations, because even if other commands
remain dormant, the TC cannot afford to be so, because of attrition arising from
progression in rank, age and separation. It was against this backdrop that I
called the TC “the Command that never sleeps”. Furthermore, the expected
induction of new platforms: F-7, ATR 42 MPA and LUH 109 will add more teeth
to the NAF operational capability. However, I am troubled that personnel to fly
and maintain the aircraft would be difficult to find, for the reasons mentioned
earlier in the paper.
THE WAY FORWARD OR STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE
EFFICIENCY IN TRAINING
Having discussed the theory, Challenges and Limitations of Training in the
NAF so far, let us now turn our search light to the strategies to enhance training,
thus leading to operational effectiveness. Otherwise the discourse will be
illogical. Strategy like some other concepts in Social Science does not enjoy a
universal definition. Consequently, the meaning varies within time and space.
From the original Greek word, strategeos meaning the art of a general or
30 AIR TRAINER PAGE
generalship to the current use in business or family as a plan of action to remain
competitive or survive, strategy has different meanings to different people.
This latter view is supported by Baruch de Spinoza's definition of strategy as
“The ability to increase your power to survive”. This is the sense in which
strategy has been adopted in this paper.
Consequently, some of the strategies to enhance NAF operational capability
through effective Training are:
a. Amendment to AFP 248. The framers of the AFP 248 had very
lofty ideas for the Nigerian Air Force. However, owing to
contradictions both internal and external, the NAF had not been able
to carry out training courses accordingly to the contents of AFP 248.
Therefore, with the reducing budgetary allocations, the NAF should
set up a board of officers to review the AFP 248 to a manageable level.
Furthermore, amendments should be recorded in the space provided,
with dates and signatures.
b. Funding. The NAF is a capital and knowledge intensive
organization. Because almost all technical support, sourced overseas,
make it difficult to compromise on cost. Thus, appropriate resource
allocations should be made towards training. We are not unmindful
of other competing demands on the NAF budgets.
c. Equipment. All critical equipment needed for training
should be procured and installed. It is surprising that no NAF ac
simulator is functioning today. In AFIT, the large scale Wind tunnel
bought some 20 + years age has not been installed. Of course, the
equipment will have to be upgraded before installation or replaced
outright with a modern type.
d. Training of More Instructors. The NAF should adopt a
strategy of training more instructors for all trade groups. Particularly,
the number of flying instructors should also be beefed up to meet the
instructor student ratio of 1:2:5. Thus, to increase efficiency, a
categorization and standardization scheme should be introduced.
Obviously, this will be followed by the Establishment of a NAF
Central Flying School to carry out the function. When I was AOI, I
submitted a paper on the modalities for this scheme. It is a full paper
which can be presented to the body of instructors and pilots in the
NAF at a selected time in future.
e. Intellectual Capacity. Typical assets which scholars have are
intellectual integrity and fearless articulation of views. Modern Air
Forces have become very complex and expensive. Therefore,
personnel should have the intellectual capacity to generate
knowledge so as to cope with the challenges of modern warfare. Also,
enemy defences have become more multi layered thus making it
difficult to hit target and go scot free. The NAF needs officers and
men with the intellectual capacities of Frank Whittle, John Boyd,
John Warden III etc. the foundation has been laid by the academic
degrees from NDA before commission. The AFIT Tele-education
programme with Cranfield University is the right direction. Thus,
more officers particularly the pilots should be exposed to further
academic studies for the desired situational awareness to meet the
challenges of a modern air war.

f. Tour of Duty. One of the major challenges facing the NAF is
the issue of instructor Tour of Duty. Over the years, the NAF had
turned a blind eye to the issue, consequently, some instructors spent
between 8 and 12 years on instructional duties. This state of affairs
led to apathy from young officers who, would have become
instructors. Thus, the NAF must as a matter of fact give instructors
their regular postings as stipulated in the Executive Regulations. Of
course, the instructors can return to their instructional duty after
working in operational squadron or field duty.
g. Infrastructure. Infrastructural facilities are pre-requisite for
sound training. With the near collapse of these facilities in the 90s,
efforts were made starting from the year 2000 to improve on the
existing infrastructure in the training schools. This culminated in the
upgrade of the 320 TTG to AFIT, but some challenges like inadequate
hostel accommodation, laboratory equipment and research fellows
still remain. However, a lot of effort is still required to get the other
schools to the international standards.
h. Yearly Tactical Exercises. Tactical exercises are held by serious
Air Forces in order to evaluate the training system. The exercise are
use to test the capability of each branch of the NAF to perform its role.
The reason is that an aircraft flying generates a lot of work down the
line. Moreover, the result of the exercise will be used in the
operational research activity employing appropriate analytical tools.
I. Leadership. According to Montgomery, leadership is the
capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and
the character which inspires confidence. And Wess Roberts posits
that leadership is the privilege to have the responsibility to direct the
actions of others in carrying out the purposes of the organization at
varying levels of authority and with accountability for both
successful and failed endeavours. Warren Bennis describe
leadership as character. Thus, emphasis is on performance. I have
deliberately left the issue of leadership last. The reason is that, it is
the strategy that webs all others to effective performance. Human
being is the most important part of the loop. He defines all odds to
achieve. Therefore, NAF leadership at all levels of training should
display principle centred leadership for the success of the training
systems. After all, the military profession is the profession of role
modeling. Throughout military history, young officers would wish to
be like great generals, admirals, and marshals. In fact, if a flying
instructor is very good, you will notice that many young pilots would
want to fly and speak like him. Likewise in other trade groups in the
NAF. So we need to produce more role models for the NAF training
system.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, training is the development of knowledge, skill and attitude in an
individual to accomplish certain tasks, safely and effectively, without risk to
himself, equipment or other people. Thus, training is a very expensive business
and particularly that of a NAF pilot. It costs a great deal in terms of time, energy,
money and human resources. In order to make it more efficient and economical,
we must ensure that our instructions are as effective as possible. Furthermore,
training methods must change time to time according to the training policies
which must take cognizance of rapidly changing situations in the World.
With the inception of NAF in 1964, basically all Professional Courses were
conducted overseas. However, by the 1970s, the NAF embarked on
programme of localizing many of these trainings conducted overseas. Thus,
many of the schools were established under the Training Command to conduct
the courses. The visionaries of the NAF produced the AFP 248 to guide
subsequent generations on training. Although, the contents of the AFP 248 are
very ideal, efforts to implement the training objectives became very difficult
owing to contradictions that are both internal and external to the NAF. Besides,
the era of 1970 – 80s, the NAF has had serious challenges in meeting its training
targets. Therefore, the AFP 248 should be reviewed according to the realities of
the time.
In this paper, efforts were made to analyze the challenges and evolve strategies
that, if implemented would lead to optimizing training to meet NAF operational
requirement. Some of the strategies include; improved funding, available and
serviceable equipment, Training of more instructors, Tour of duty,
Infrastructure, Yearly tactical exercises and leadership of the training
establishments. The primacy of airpower should not be cast aside, thus the
NAF should use some retired officers to act as advocates of the NAF to the
Nigerian Government, National Assembly and the Public. As you are all aware
of the popular saying in an air force that, “Jet noise is the sound of freedom”.
However, in the last 20 years there has not been much Jet noise (military) over
the Nigerian Air Space. Thus, you are free to draw your conclusion on the state
of freedom in Nigeria.
RECOMMENDATION
As the findings of this paper have policy implications, it is therefore
recommended that:
a. The AFP 248 should be reviewed.
b. More funds should be allocated to Training.
c. Modern and serviceable equipment should be made available
to training.
d. Adequate number of instructors be trained eg establishment of
NAF CFS.
e. Develop the intellectual capacity of personnel.
f. Tour of duty for instructors should not be more than 6 – 8 years
at any instance.
g. Develop more and befitting infrastructural facility in the
Training Schools.
h. Revisit the Technical Assistant Group Programme.
i. Leaders in training institutions should be personnel with
character.
Napoleon once said that, “an army should sweat in training so as to bleed less in
war”. The import of this assertion is that the NAF should invest heavily in
training in order to meet its operational requirements in war and peace.
AVM Obierika delivered this paper at the 2009 Training Conference held at
303 Flying Training School, Kano.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 31
NAFOWA ACTIVITIES COMMENDED…..
By SGT Fanzhi & Corper Aisha Abdullahi
The Air Officer Commanding Training Command AVM MD Umar interacting with the National President NAFOWA, Mrs Appolonia Petinrin, in his office.
A
ir Officer Commanding (AOC) Training Command, Air
Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar has lauded the
Philanthropic activities of the Nigerian Air Force Officers
Wives Association (NAFOWA) in promoting the standard of
living of NAFpersonnel and the underprivilegded in the society.
He said, “the Association has done a lot in alleviating poverty
and should be emulated by other non-governmental
organisations (NGOS)”. AVM Umar gave the commendation
recently while playing host to the National President of the
Association, Mrs Apolonia Linda Petinrin and members of her
entourage who were on a familiarization visit to the Command
Headquarters.
He said that NAFOWA had over the years lived up to expectation
in line with its motto “Service to humanity” in providing self
employment to spouses of serving personnel and charged them
not to relent in serving the NAF families and the society at large .
AVM Umar commended the president and her team for their
philanthropic work, saying that it takes commitment for anyone
to engage in such activities.
He assured the Association of the Command’s support of their
activities and charged them not to hesitate to call on the
Command when the need arises.
AVM Umar prayed for good health for the President and her
32 AIR TRAINER PAGE
Executives in their effort to take the Association to greater
heights.
Earlier in her remarks, the President of the Association, Mrs
Appolonia Petinrin informed the Air Officer Commanding (AOC)
and his Principal Staff Officers that they were in the Command
Headquarters to inspect ongoing NAFOWA projects in Kaduna
and environs and also to make an assessment of achievements
recorded so far by the Association. She commended NAF Base
Kaduna as the mother unit for all NAF personnel, stressing that
the Base is privileged to benefit from the Association’s
humanitarian activities.
She added that all hands must be on deck in fighting poverty in
the barracks by encouraging personnel wives to be more
industrious and hardworking.
Mrs Petinrin disclosed that the Association was working
assiduously to improve the standard of living among Air Force
families, pointing out that the needy, must be assisted to give
them a sense of belonging.
She disclosed that arrangements were in top gear by the
Association for an appeal fund launching and whatever money
realize would be committed to the welfare of the less privilege in
the society.
 PICTURES OF NAFOWA ACTIVITIES

AOC TC, AVM MD Umar and Air Cdre AA Ogunnaike in a group photograph with NAFOWA members in a group photograph with children of
NAFOWA Members when they visited the Command. the Adonai Orphanage Home.

Training Command Chapter Chairperson of NAFOWA,

Hajiya Aisha Umar (middle) in a group photograph at NAFOWA, Training Command Chapter, making a donation
NAFOWA members interacting before making the donation.
the Adonia Orphanage and Widow Center. to an orphanage home to the less privilege children.

NAFOWA members at the presentation of items to the Training Command NAFOWA Chapter Chairperson, Hajiya Aisha Umar AOC TC, AVM Umar with NAFOWA members in the
Chatting with one of the staff of the orphanage home.
orphanage home. Command Conference Room.

NAFOWA National President, Mrs Petinrin interacting with Mrs Aisha Umar NAFOWA members and officials of Adonai orphanage home after the presentation of gifts Mrs Josephine Buhari briefing NAFOWA President, Mrs Petinrin.
and Mrs Okafor.

NAFOWA President being received at 335 BSG The wife of Executive Governor Kaduna State, Hajiya Amina A NAFOWA member trying her hands on the computer.
by some members. Namadi Sambo in a group photograph with the visiting NAFOWA Members

AIR TRAINER PAGE 33

AVM MU’AZU
EMPHASIZES ON
THE IMPORTANCE
EVALUATION By SGT Fanzhi TC

AVM Ahmed Mu’azu

T he relevance of evaluation in effective management of

resources in any corporate organization and indeed the
Armed Forces cannot be over-emphasized, Air Officer
Inspections (AOI) at Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice
Marshal Ahmed Tijjani Mu'azu have said.
He said that, “It is only through evaluation that allocated
resources could be utilized judiciously for the overall goal of
any organisation.”
The Air Officer Inspections gave this declaration when he paid
a courtesy visit to the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Training
Command, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar. He
stated that for effective role of the Inspections Branch in the
Air Force, there was need for the Branch to embark on regular
inspection tours of NAF Facilities Nation Wide.
AVM Mu'azu also observed that it was only through proper
management that plans, when drawn, would be effectively
executed for the benefit of the Nigerian Air Force.
“We are working round the clock to ensure that Commands
and units make adequate uses of the resources at their
disposal.” He said.
The one time Commander 335 Base Services Group lauded
the Command for the level of proper utilization of the
Command Evaluation team. He also disclosed that the Branch
was working to improve staff efficiency and urged the AOC to
assist the branch where necessary.
“In our effort, we are trying to incorporate other personnel
from every speciality in the Nigerian Air Force into our branch
for effective performance in the inspection branch” so that
there would be no shortage of staff and these would help the
Branch in discharging its responsibilities.
He disclosed that as part of efforts in ensuring that the
Command Evaluation Officers discharge their duties creditably,
the Branch was able to organize a training session that would
assist them in reports preparations and policy formulations.
Speaking further, the AOI said it was the hope of the branch to
ensure that the branch come up with good potentials for the
whole Air Force and assess the level of good evaluation at the
Command level, stressing that the Command Evaluation
Officers were expected to present good reports to achieve the
Chief of Air Staff vision for the Service.
Responding, AVM Umar commended the AOI for his efforts in
highlighting the roles of evaluation in ensuring effective
management in the entire Nigerian Air Force.
He urged the team to scrutinise the Command activities and
come up with areas where the Command was lacking and
where the Command can build on.
He said the Command would work assiduously to achieve the
goals of the Inspection Branch.
The AOI was accompanied on the tour by some of his Principal
Staff Officers.

34 AIR TRAINER PAGE

NAF
To Provide
CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT
FOR LEARNING – AOA
BY SGT FANZHI TC
W ith effect from September 2010, the Nigerian Air Force
would admit only 35 pupil per class in all its primary and
secondary schools nationwide, Air Officer Administration
Headquarters Nigeria Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Tomboyi Dick –
Iruenabere has said.
He said this would create conducive learning environment and avoid
overcrowding in classes which makes it difficult for teachers to
effectively control the students.
Air Vice Marshal Iruenabere dropped the hint in Kaduna while
holding durbar with NAF personnel in co-located units in Kaduna.
He stressed that for effective performance of students, the
Directorate of Education have mapped out strategy to salvage the
Educational career of children of personnel. Aside the number of
pupils per class, the Air Officer Administration also disclosed that
with the new policy on education, personnel wards would be given
priority for admission into NAF schools. He urged personnel to
always settle their children’s school fees to avoid any form of
embarrassment of sending their wards home which may affect their
performance.
The Air Officer Administration added that the Directorate of
Education would ensure that only trained teachers were employed
to ensure that children of personnel are given quality education,
since education is the bedrock of nation building.
AVM Iruenabere also disclosed that the Air Force was working round
the clock to ensure that the high standard attained in NAF schools
was maintained for others to emulate, pointing out that the Service
can not compromise on performance and charged teachers in the
various schools not to rest on their oars in ensuring that maximum
performance is achieved.
AVM Tomboyi Dick-Iruenabere
Responding to a question on career progression in the Nigerian Air
Force, AVM Iruenabere charged personnel to avail themselves of the
opportunity offered by the Service and develop themselves
academically.
Commenting on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS),
AVM Iruenabere stated that the Nigerian Air Force, in conjunction
with other Services, was working assiduously to ensure that drugs
were always available in hospitals to carter for the health needs of
personnel and their families, adding that plans were underway to
introduce “sick parade book” that would ensure that personnel were
well attended to in NAF hospitals.
Speaking on discipline, AVM Iruenabere expressed satisfaction with
the high level of discipline and charged personnel to keep the flag
flying, pointing out that they should desist from any act that would
tarnish their image and that of the Nigerian Air Force at large.
On security, the Air officer Administration charged the personnel to
follow due process in settling disputes with civilian counterparts. He
called on personnel to be security cautious and report any
suspected character to higher authority for proper identification and
action.
The Air Officer Administration who was accompanied by some
Directors, had earlier called on the Air Officer Commanding Training
Command, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar where he
expressed appreciation to the Air Officer for the warm reception
accorded him and members of his team.
The tour also took the Air officer Administration to the 325 Ground
Training Group were he was a former Commander and to 345 Aero-
medical Hospital.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 35
NAF COLLABORATES
WITH NCAA
AVM MD Umar presents a plaque to A cross section of the visiting NAF
Dr. Harold Demuren delegate led by AVM MD Umar (3rd from left)
during their deliberation with the DG of NCAA,
Dr. Harold Demune
T he Nigerian Air Force has concluded plans to
establish an International Helicopter Training
School to be situated at 305 Flying Training
School, Nigerian Air Force, Enugu. When fully
operational, the School will, not only admit personnel
of the NAF but also admit civilians both within Nigeria
and from other countries in the West African sub
Region. It is in line with the above that the Chief of Air
Staff, Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin constituted a high
powered delegation, headed by the Air Officer
Commanding Training Command, Air Vice Marshal
Mohammed Dikko Umar to commence discussion
with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on the
modalities that must be met before the school finally
takes off. Leading a delegation comprising of senior
NAF officers with vast experience in helicopter flying
training to NCAA Headquarters at Lagos, AVM Umar
congratulated the Director General, Dr Harold
Demuren for the giant strides so far recorded in terms
of aviation safety in Nigeria. In particular, he
congratulated Dr Demuren on the prompt provision of
information regarding the movement of a young
Nigerian who attempted to bomb a US bounds plane
recently. Responding, the Director General
commended the Chief of the Air Staff for the steps he
has so far taken to revive the fortunes of the NAF and
thanked him for always supporting the efforts of civil
aviation in Nigeria. He also said that he sees the
cooperation between the NAF and NCAA as healthy for
the Nigerian Aviation sector.
With regards to the establishment of an International
Helicopter Flying Training School, Dr Demuren
assured the delegation that his organisation will
support the NAF. He observed that most civil
36 AIR TRAINER PAGE
by Wg Cdr Ek Gabkwet
The Director General NCAA, Dr. Harold Demune
(4 from left) in a group photograph with his staff
and the visiting NAF delegate.
helicopter pilots in Nigeria were foreigners and with
the establishment of the Helicopter training school,
jobs will be provided for qualified Nigerian. While
reassuring the delegation of his commitment and
devotion to ensuring the success of establishing the
School, the Director General further stated that the
school, when established, will assist the Nigerian oil
industry with indigenous helicopter pilots. Earlier, the
DG was briefed on the level of infrastructural
development at the site of the proposed Helicopter
school. So far, an aircraft hanger and shelter facilities
to cater for 6 helicopters have been constructed while
accommodations for atleast 10 students are ready to
be occupied. Fire prevention facilities at the school
are also very active.
On the issue of accreditation of courses at the Air
Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), an institution that
awards Masters Degree in avionics and other related
courses in conjunction with Cranfield University,
United Kingdom, the Director General assured the
NAF that the issue will be resolved before the end of
March 2010, since an NCAA assessment team that
visited the institute recently have submitted a
favourable report on the outcome of its inspection.
With regards to the issuance of flying licences to its
pilots by 301 Flying Training School, NAF Base,
Kaduna, the Director general yet again reassured the
NAF that he would assist in ensuring that the school
become an Aviation Training Organisation (ATO). He
however directed that the school must ensure strict
compliance with all laid down rules and regulations
pertaining to safety as safety can never be
compromised.
CAS REITERATES THE
RELEVANCE OF TRAINING BY Sgt FanzhI TC &Corper Aisha Tanko

By SGT FANZHI TC

C
hief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oluseyi Olusegun Petinrin has
said that the relevance of training and re-training of NAF
personnel cannot be over emphasized, saying that the efforts
taken by his administration was to regenerate knowledge based on
manpower development for the service in the 21st Century.
Air Marshal Petinrin, who was speaking at the passing out parade of
the Basic Military Training Course 26/2009, noted that the NAF was
a highly technical Service that requires highly trained personnel to
maintain the sophisticated platforms in its inventory. He advised the
gradaunts to develop themselves by taking advantage of the various
areas of specialties in the NAF such as communication, armament,
air traffic control, administration and supply, adding that the military
training they have acquired was a basic foundation which they
should consolidate upon for a productive service in the NAF.
Speaking further, Air Marshal Petinrin disclosed that the military
profession was such a career that calls for integrity, honour,
diligence, courage and absolute loyalty which they must strive
through hard work and selfless dedication to duty. According to the
Chief, “You must not forget that the
military profession is quite enormous,
realizing that would demand much from
you and even to the extent of paying the
supreme price for the sake of your country.
There is therefore no room for individual or
group indiscipline”.
general adding that they should acquaint themselves with the
occurrences of their various units.
Air Marshal Petinrin noted that the current focus of the Service was
to rebuild the operational capability of the Service which was a vital
instrument of National power, pointing out that personnel should
contribute towards realizing this vision in the interest of our beloved
Country.
The Chief further advised the recruits to be prudent, accountable
and handle Service equipment with care, stressing that the NAF
would not tolerate any act of negligence and wastage. He also urge
them to cultivate a harmonious relationships with their civilian
counterparts and other security agents, pointing out that the Armed
Forces was responsible for the protection of the Nation's democracy
and must be subordinate to constituted authorities.
Highlights of the ceremony were the presentation of awards to
recruits who distinguished themselves during the training. A total of
Five Hundred and two recruits graduated

While congratulating the personnel, Air

Marshal Petinrin urged them to contribute
their quota to the current scheme of
events at unit level and the Service in

AIR TRAINER PAGE 37

 PEACE AND
SECURITY
AS AVENUE FOR DEVELOPMENT
- Gov Namadi Sambo

P eace and security is the only avenue to sustainable

development where citizens can enjoy the much needed
dividends of democracy, Governor Namadi Sambo of
Kaduna State have said.
He made this declaration when he received members of the
Senate Committee on the Nigerian Air Force, who paid him a
courtesy visit at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.

According to the Governor, Kaduna States in its effort to ensure

security of lives and properties established “Operation Yaki,” a
security outfit comprising members of the Armed Forces and the
Police and thanked the Federal Government for supporting the
State's initiative in combating criminal activities.

Governor Sambo called on the Committee to provide adequate

support and facilities to the Air Force considering the importance
of air power in nation building, stressing that no country could
afford to operate with a weak defence sector.

The Governor noted that when citizens of a state are well secured,
they would always contribute their quota and have a sense of
belonging. He thanked all collaborating security agencies in the
State for providing their manpower to participate in Operation
Yaki.

Earlier in his welcome remark, the Chairman of the Senate

Committee on NAF, Senator Audu Idris Mohammed had
intimated the Governor on their mission in Kaduna, which was to
inspect NAF facilities in Kaduna and to see areas that would be
consolidate upon, considering the importance of the NAF in
protecting the territorial integrity of the Nation.

He commended Governor Sambo for the initiatives taken to

combat criminal activities in the State and the cordial
relationship the NAF enjoys enjoy with the State Government
while calling on other States to emulate same.

Senator Mohammed disclosed that his Committee was working

round the clock to improve welfare packages of members of NAF
as well as ensuring that it becomes airborne soon.

Similarly, while receiving the Committee in his office, Air Officer

Commanding Training Command, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed
Dikko Umar said the Command, which was tasked with the
responsibility of providing training for NAF personnel, would need
to refurbish some of its aircraft in order to enhance training in the
NAF. He thanked the Committee for supporting the NAF and said
such should be sustained.

The Senate Committee also inspected facilities at 333 Logistics

Group where they were conducted round by the Commander of
the Group, Air Commodore Eko Osim.

A cross section of the graduating students of AFGCS Jos.

38 AIR TRAINER PAGE

AFCSC TO AWARD
MASTERS DEGREE – COMDT SGT FANZHI TC

A rrangements have been concluded for the Armed

Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji –
Kaduna to award masters degree to its senior course
student's in preparing them to take up staff and command
appointments at various levels in their respective services.
He commended, especially members of the Nigerian Air Force
Officers Wives Association (NAFOWA) for demonstrating their
togetherness to him and urged the Air Officer Commanding to
extend his warm appreciation to the Command Chapter
Chairperson of the Association and the National President of
Commandant of the College, Air Vice Marshal Sunday Ali Leks the Association.
disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Air Officer Responding, Air Officer Commanding, Training Command, Air
Commanding Training Command, Air Vice Marshal Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar prayed for repose of
Mohammed Dikko Umar. the soul of Mrs. Susan Leks who answered the glorious call
To achieve this, “The college would collaborate with the championing the course of the less privileged through the
Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) since the duo have been Nigerian Air Force Officers wives Association (NAFOWA). He
mandated to produce officers for the Armed Forces.” described the deceased as a mother to all who come across
her and charged Air Vice Marshal Leks to accept the demised
AVM Leks said it became necessary to update the training of his wife as an act of God.
programme of the College, considering how it started from the
grass root and how over the years the College had attained AVM Umar described the appointment of AVM Leks as well
international standards which can be compared with similar deserved, pointing out that he was appointed based on his
Institutions in the world. hard work and wealth of experience which he hoped AVM Leks
would bring to bear in his effort to take the College to greater
AVM Leks disclosed that the College, which began as an Army heights.
Staff College had metamorphosed into what is today known
as the Armed Forces Command and Staff College with sister
African countries participating in its courses. He expressed
appreciation to the Air Officer Commanding for the cordial
relationship existing between the College and the Command
and hope that the existing relationship would be sustained.
AVM Leks who was on familiarization tour of military
th
formations in Kaduna, shortly after assuming duty as the 18
Commandant of the College stressed that his posting to the
College was like a home coming, having served as a Director
not too long ago.
The Commandant further expressed his appreciation to the
Air Officer Commanding and his staff officers for standing by
him during his period of grieve stressing that the Air Force
demonstrated the spirit of oneness and hoped that such co-
operation would be sustained.
Commandant Armed Forces Command and Staff College,
AVM SA Leks signs the visitors book at HQ TC.

AVM SA Leks(4th from right) and AVM Umar in a group photograph AVM MD Umar and AVM SA Leks at HQ TC
with other senior officers. Conference room.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 39
EDUCATION IS THE BEDROCK
OF NATION BUILDING
-Mrs Aisha Jimeta

E ducation has been described as the only human factor for

sustainable development since it is the bedrock of Nation
building.
Seasonal Educationist and Senior Lecturer at the Department of
Technical Education, College of Science and Technology, Kaduna
Polytechnic, Mrs Aisha Jimeta dropped the hint at the 25th
graduation ceremony of the Air Force Secondary School Kaduna
recently.
Speaking on the topic “Life in Higher Institutions,” the Educationist
said, ”Education is the only yardstick for human development and
should be seen as relevant by parents who should work hard to
ensure their children and wards received the best education in their
lives.”
While congratulating the students, the lecturer urged them to
choose courses that would interest them in pursuing their dreams,
pointing out that when given a course, they could meet with the
counseling unit for further advice on such courses.
Mrs Jimeta stressed the need for the country’s education system to
have an attitude of change for the better and charged government
and other stakeholders in the system to have a new approach
towards restoring the lost Glory in the system.
She also charged teachers, government and parents to have a
positive attitude towards the educational system as this was the
only system that would give one a sense of belonging.
Speaking further, the Guest Lecturer adviced the graduating
students to always create time for their studies and shun any vices
capable of tarnishing their image and that of their guardians, adding
that they should shun examination malpractices as any one found in
such habit, would be dealt with.
“Make sure you prepare very well for all examinations and follow
examination rules and regulations. Do not do anything that will
breach the regulations, or else you will he expelled from the
institution” she said.
Speaking on dress code, Mrs Jimeta admonished the students that
“Higher institutions attach great importance to dress code that
would project good image and personality.
Commenting on social vices, the Guest Lecturer charged the
graduating students to shun cultism and drug abuse as their effect
could destroy their dreams of becoming future leaders.
While praying for the management of the school, Mrs Jimeta
charged the students to always have faith in God as He is the
bedrock of any success.
In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion and Deputy Governor of
Kaduna State, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa said one of the 11 points
agenda of the State Government was to promote education to the
highest level, stressing that without education, no meaningful
development would be achieved as it is the foundation of any nation.
Represented by the Director of Schools in the State Ministry of
Education, Alhaji Abubakar Tanko, the Deputy Governor said that
education is a joint responsibility and all hands must be on deck to
promote the sector.
In his remark at the occasion, Chairman of Parent, Teachers
Association (PTA) of the school, Mr SI Bello said the association was
doing everything within available resources to uplift the standard of
the school. He said, in the last two years, the Association was able
to provide some infrastructures in the school, and they would not
relent in promoting the standard of the school.
Also speaking at the occasion, Air Officer Commanding Training
Command, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar said that the
Nigerian Air Force would continue to contribute to education in all
NAF formations “as part of our effort to ensure that our wards have
the best education they deserve.”
Represented by the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) Training
Command, Air Commodore Akinola Ogunnaike, the AOC said the
Chief of the Air staff would continue to give his support to the school
in producing good ambassadors that would be leaders of our great
nation.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Commandant of the School,
Group Captain Jummai Musa said that in the last year Senior
School Certificate Examination (SSCE) results showed that the
school recorded 95.3% success and that the school management
would work assiduously to improve on the performance in an effort
to re-brand the school. She applauded the Nigerian Air Fore for
providing a conducive learning environment for the students and
boasting the moral of the teachers.
She said that to further encourage the staff to contribute their quota,
the school would need a well equipped laboratory, a staff car and an
administrative block. Group Captain Musa disclosed that since
inception in 1983, the school had produced competent graduates
in various fields of endeavours who are occupying strategic
positions in economy.
Highlight of the graduation ceremony was the presentation of
awards to deserving students who distinguished themselves in
various subjects and responsibilities. One hundred and one
students graduated at the occasion.

40 AIR TRAINER PAGE

 SHEKARAU
WANTS ARMED FORCES
REPOSITIONED
BY SGT FANZHI TC

Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State has call on the Federal progress for personnel in the Nigerian Air Force.
Government to consider repositioning the Armed Forces through AVM Umar stressed that in line with the Chief of the Air Staff
effective training, equipment and budgetary allocations. vision of ensuring the operational capability of the Air Force, the
Shekarau who spoke while opening the 2- day Training need for effective training cannot be neglected, calling on the
Conference organized by Training Command of the Nigerian Air participants to contribute meaningfully on issues that would take
Force in Kano recently. the Command and the Nigerian Air Force at large to greater
The Governor said that the armed forces of any nation is the heights.
bedrock and frontier of security against any external aggression. He added that at the end of the Conference, it was hoped that the
He stressed that a well equipped, highly trained and motivated resolutions reached would help to improve training activities in
armed forces was the pride of any nation and should be the Nigerian Air Force.
dedicated to their clarion call in discharging their constitutional
duties, adding that, “It is the primary responsibility of the Federal
Government to ensure the well- being of any organisation,
especially the Armed Forces.”
Governor Shekarau who was represented at the occasion by the
Special Assistant on Private Schools and Vocational Education,
Alhaji Ado Umar Mohammed, stressed that professionalism
could be sustained through continuous training and evaluation.
Governor Shekarau disclosed that Kano State would continue to
support the activities of personnel of the Nigerian Air Force.
The Conference with the theme “Enhancing Operational
Capability through effective training” was aimed at evolving
policies that would improve effective training in the Nigerian Air
Force.
Also speaking at the Conference, Chief of the Air Staff, Air
Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin expressed appreciation to the
administration of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua for supporting
the Service in its training activities.
He disclosed that the Service would continue to protect the
nation's nascent democracy and assured that training would be
given priority as without effective training no air force would
achieve maximum performance, stressing that every good
foundation depends on the training of its personnel.
The Chief of the Air staff, who was represented by the Air Officer
Operations at Headquarters Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal
Anene Okafor disclosed that the Service would update its training
policy to make it relevant to other air forces in the globe.
He said, “In line with the Federal Government 7- point agenda
and vision 202020, manpower development and operational
readiness of the Nigerian Air Force would be pursud with vigour.” His Excellency
IBRAHIM SHEKARAU
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, Air Officer Commanding Training Executive Governor, Kano State
Command, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar, had said
the aim of the conference was to improve training and career

AIR TRAINER PAGE 41

 COMMAND
AND LEADERSHIP
IN THE MILITARY: MY PERSPECTIVE
INTRODUCTION
F rom ancient times to the present
day, the world has witnessed the
rise and fall of kingdoms and
nations due largely to the deeds and
misdeeds of their leaders. Various
leaders employ different styles of
leadership at different times in varying
situations. In the military, which is our
noble profession, success depends on
the appropriate combination of qualities
of a skillful leader.
Major General Thomas Jackson
described the essence of military
leadership when he stated that “The
ability to prepare or get ready to fight, skill
in actual fighting and will to prevail in
combat against a foe, are the critical
dimensions of leadership”. General Crea,
a Canadian Officer also stated that “the
highest responsibility of an officer in the
Armed Forces is to effectively lead and
command his men in all types of
operations”. Hence, command and
leadership are fundamental ingredients
of warfare, without which the success of
any military operation cannot be assured.
42 AIR TRAINER PAGE
By AVM MD Umar
diverges from the command role.
Command merely vests the leader with
authority to define and order the
accomplishment of an objective.
Achieving it requires the additional
influence of leadership. Ideally, the
leader sets the standard for command
through personal examples and shared
sacrifice.
A military leader therefore is the brain,
the motive power of command, upon
whom subordinates rely for guidance and
wisdom and depend upon for good
judgment. He must be determined,
unflappable and charismatic, confident
in delegation of authority able to combine
Air Vice Marshal MD Umar
the various strands of command into
common thread, seasoned, intelligent
Military leadership and command are two
and thoughtful. Military leadership also is
closely linked elements. It is difficult, if
a continuous process that extends well
not impossible to consider one without
beyond the battle field. Its application
considering the other. Battle represents
and cultivation are as important in times
the severest test of a commander's
of peace as in war.
mastery of leadership doctrine, for the
commander must stimulate
When judging the qualities of leadership,
subordinates to do things that would
there is a tendency to think of the gifted
imperil their health, even cost them their
or natural leader, involving some
lives. It is here that the leadership role
expectation that leadership is an
inherent personality quality that some
have and others have not. However, it
has been observed that certain principles
of leadership could be taught, given the
proper lessons from military history. It is
in this regard that the teaching of
leadership process becomes necessary
in order to equip future leaders with
relevant leadership skills to enable them
render dedicated service to the nation.
This paper aims at discussing my
perspective on command and leadership
in the military with a view to suggesting
ways on how to be a good commander
and a leader.
SCOPE
To achieve this aim, the following shall
be addressed
a. Concept of Command and
Leadership.
b. Factors that affect command.
c. W h a t makes a good
commander?
d. Factors of leadership and
types.
e. What makes a good leader?
f. Relationship between a good
commander and a good leader.
g. How to be a good commander
and leader.
CONCEPT OF COMMAND
The concept of command transcends
ages in the military and as mentioned
earlier, it is inseparable from leadership.
However, the defining line could be
identified. 'Command is simply to have
authority or jurisdiction over; to give an
order or orders, to direct with authority; to
exercise power or authority, be in control,
act as a commander; power to control or
dominate'. Among other things,
command involves forms of exercising
power. For example, the right to make
appointments, allocate resources and
exert influence. A commander sets the
objective(s), marshals his forces and
ensures that objects are achieved
efficiently, effectively and in accordance
with directive(s) of higher headquarters.
Great responsibility goes with command
and positions. NATO on its part defined
command as “the authority vested in an
individual for direction, coordination and
control of military forces”. Clausewitz
sees it simply as “leadership in war”.
Martin Van Creveld also stresses that,
Major General Thomas Jackson
'Command is both an organizational and
cognitive ability… an ideal command
concept involves the political objective
being articulately interpreted as
commander's intent and fully executed
by the subordinates'. Command is both
art and a science. It is a science because
it works in a deliberate and rational way
to achieve a given end (the mission). It is
an art because it relies on persuading
people to engage willingly in irrational
behaviour by putting themselves in
harm's way and by killing or trying to kill
other people.
Seven vectors influence Command.
These are mission, situation, resources,
organization, planning, control and
leadership. The relative importance of
the vectors for military operation
depends on the mission, level of
command and situations. However, for
this presentation, command is expressed
primarily through its leadership vector. It
is also in military leadership that
command meets the ultimate of
inspiring people to perform their duties
and contribute to mission
accomplishment. Without leadership,
all other vectors of command are
impotent.
CONCEPT OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership has been conseptualized to
connote different ideas to different
people. Some say leaders are made not
born. Definitions of military leadership
generally describe what a good leader
does, not necessarily what leadership is.
According to current U.S Army doctrine,
'Leadership is the process of influencing
others to accomplish the mission by
providing purpose, direction and
motivation.' Traditionally, applying those
skills competently has been achieved
through intensive theoretical and
practical training.
Xenophon a pupil of Socrates, who led
the retreat of the two thousand from
Persia to Greece in 400 BC believed it
was highly indicative of good leadership
for a group to obey someone without
coercion and be prepared to remain by
him during times of danger. According to
him “the true test of the effectiveness of
the leader is whether people follow him
on their own free will during time of great
hardship”. The impression given of
leadership in this definition implies that a
leader has influence without exerting
AIR TRAINER PAGE 43
force of any kind. This definition certainly
creates some complications since it is
difficult to have influence without
exerting force even if it is by inducement.
Whatever the case may be, and
according to Bass theory of Leadership,
there are three basic ways to explain how
people become leaders. The first two
explain the leadership development for a
small number of people. These Theories
are:
a. Some personality traits may lead
people naturally into leadership roles.
This is the Trait Theory.
b. A crisis or important event may
cause a person to rise to the occasion,
which brings out extraordinary
leadership qualities in an
ordinary person. This is the great Event
Theory.
c. People can choose to become
leaders. People can learn leadership
skills. This is the Transformation
Leaderhip Theory. It is the most
widely accepted theory today and the
premise on which this lecture would be
based.
Therefore, in this paper, leadership is a
process by which a person influences
others to accomplish an objective and
directs the organisation in a way that
makes it more cohesive and coherent.
Leaders carry out this process by
applying their leadership attributes,
such as beliefs, values, ethics,
characters, knowledge and skills. Even
though your position as a commander, a
manager or supervisor gives you the
authority to accomplish certain tasks and
objectives in the orgranisation, this
power does not make you a leader. It
simply makes you the boss, leadership
differs in that it makes the followers want
to achieve high goals. Good leaders are
made not born. If you have the desire
and will power, you can become an
effective leader. Good leaders develop
through a never ending process of self-
44 AIR TRAINER PAGE
study, education, training and experience.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT COMMAND
The Mission. One of the most
misunderstood factor that affects
command is the mission of the unit both
in wartime and peacetime. This is
because it is assumed that everyone in
the unit understands the unit's mission.
Understanding the mission of your unit
may not be as easy and clear as you
might think, particularly in this twenty-
Martin Van Creveld
first century environment of rapid
changes. Several commanders have
noted that, not every member of the unit
did, in fact, know what the unit’s true
mission is and treated their services as
just another job. This breach needs to be
identified early and corrected
immediately. To correct this the
commander needs to hold series of
parades or meetings where the unit’s
mission are clearly delineated to every
personnel and civilians to understand.
The briefing could be held in small groups,
as this would help the unit grasp their role
in making their task to succeed.
The People. Not knowing your
personnel is detrimental to command.
Regardless of the initial meeting you have
with your personnel, the only effective
way you can really get to know the
professionals who work for you is to get
out of your office (something many
commanders admit is their overall
weakness), and do it often. The
members of the unit may not know who
you are and may have seen you once in
their lives during your change of
command ceremony. Endevour to
obtain a quick snapshot of the unit by
obtaining a simple roll call roster from
your admin officer as this shows how the
unit is organised currently with who the
key players are. From these you can
easily reorganise the personnel to fit
your vision to achieve unit's mission.
Therefore the proverb of command aptly
fits this factor.
“Proverb for Command”
”Its your job to ensure the mission gets
done, and you certainly cannot do it
without the personnel in your command.
Loyalty works both ways – up and down
the chain of command. Just as you owe
your unfettered opinion to your boss,
and have the moral courage to disagree
with him privately, you must also express
the same courage to your personnel.
Your unit doesn't operate in vacuum and
neither should you. Encourage debate
and differing opinion from those who
offer counsel and advise. Think carefully
about every side of the issue and then
make a decision. Loyalty to superiors
and subordinates does much more to
ensure smooth-running peacetime
organisations. It prepares units for
combat operations by building trust in
leaders and leader's faith in personnel.”
- Lt Col Rollins Hickman
The Chain of Command. C o m m a n d
relationships at various levels in the unit
is very important. The way a commander
knows from the start what is and what is
not is very important to those up in the
chain of command. As earlier stated,
scheduling a meeting earlly during
change of command enables a
commander to start his or her tenure fully
aware of what had gone right and wrong
before and in what directions he needed
to point his new unit.
“Proverb for Command”
People want direction. They want to be
given challenging task, training in how
to accomplish them, and the resources
necessary to do them well. Effective
leaders strive to create an environment
of trust and understanding that
encourage their subordinates to seize
the initiative and act.
- US Army – FM – 22 - 100
The Unit Environment. P r i o r
knowledge of the unit's environment
affects command. Some officers took
command of units having had previous
working experience in the unit. This
equally helps in learning the units'
mission, its past leadership, the
personnel and past relationships in the
environment. This knowledge in most
cases makes the art of command
advantageous. However, failure to use
these past knowledge of unit
environment could be very detrimental
to the objectives of the unit. As a
commander knowing your environment
allows you to recognise the challenges as
well as knowing how to mitigate against
them to the best of your ability. This also
allows you the freedom to move on to
other important matters.
Your Family. While talking about
factors that effects command, it is
important not to forget the family. Their
lives can change substantially as you
take over your new responsibilities. It is a
good idea to explain fully to your family
about your new command and how your
new position may affect them, in that,
the new challenges may involve late
nights or early morning phone calls,
extensive travels and of course long
delays at work etc.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD COMMANDER
In late October 1947, Lt Col Le Roy
Stefen wrote a General of the United
Xenophon
State Army Henry H 'Hap' Arnold
regarding a good commander. The
advise given to him by the General which
are still very relevant in our today's
environment are as follows:
a. Basic Knowledge. Exact clear
knowledge; not a hazy smattering. This
kind of knowledge is the basics of your
profession; of every assignment you are
given, - this is your ”technique”; this
constitute your “tool”.
b. Hard Work. Unrelenting hard work.
Some persons have a natural capacity for
it; others have to develop it. No
outstanding success is ever achieved
without it.
c. Personal Integrity. This covers a
very wide field. To touch upon one or two,
it means, for example, maintaning the
courage of one's convictions. By no
means should this be confused with
stubborn thinking. Stubborn thinking is
as outmoded as the oxcart. Its exact
opposite, resilient thinking, is Today's
Must: a man must be able to
accommodate his thinking quickly and
accurately to his rapidly changing world;
nevertheless, it must be his thinking, -
not someone's else.
Personal intergrity also means moral
intergrity. Regardless of what appear to
be some superficial ideas of present-day
conduct, fundamentally, today as always,
the man who is genuinely respected is
the man who keeps his moral integrity
sound; who is trustworthy in every
respect. To be successful, a man must
trust others; and a man cannot trust
others, who does not trust himself.
FACTORS OF LEADERSHIP
Basically, there are four major factors of
leadership. These are: Followers,
Leader, Communication and Situation.
a. F o l l o w e r s .
Different people require different styles
of leadership. For example, a new hire or
young soldier requires more supervision
than an experience soldier. A person
who lacks motivation requires a different
approach than one with high degree of
motivation. You must know your
personnel. The fundamental starting
point is having a good understanding of
human nature, such as needs, emotion
and motivation. You must come to know
your employee or soldier's be, know and
do attributes.
b. Leader. You must have an
AIR TRAINER PAGE 45
honest understanding of who you are,
what you know, and what you can do.
Note that it is the followers, not the
leader who determines if a leader is
successful. If they do not trust or lack
confidence in their leader, then they will
be uninspired. To be successful you have
to convince your followers, not yourself or
your superiors, that you are worthy of
being followed.
c. Communication.Y o u lead
through two-ways communication.
Much of it is non-verbal. For instance,
when you “set example,” that
communicates to your people that you
would not ask them to perform anything
that you would not be willing to do. What
and how you communication either
builds or harms the relationship between
you and your personnel.
e. Situation. All situations are
different. What you do in one situation
will not always work in another. You must
use your judgement to decide the best
course of action and the leadership styles
needed for each situation. For example,
you may need to confront a personnel for
inappropriate behaviour, but if the
confrontation is too late or too early, too
harsh or too weak, then the result may
prove ineffective.
However, various forces will affect these
factors. Example of the forces are your
relationship with your seniors, the skill of
your personnel, the informal leaders
within your units, and how your unit is
organised.
TYPES OF LEADERSHIP
As senior officers of the armed forces, I
know you are very conversant with types
of leadership and terms used to discribe
them. Nevertheless, I am going to
categorise types of leadership as the
authoritarian, team leader, country club
leader and the impoverish leader.
a. Authoritarian Leader (High Task, Low
46 AIR TRAINER PAGE
Relationship). Leaders in this category
are very much task oriented and are hard
on their workers (authocratic). There is
little or no allowance for cooperation or
collaboration. Heavily task oriented
people display these characteristics: they
are very strong on schedules; they expect
people to do what they are told without
questions or debate; when something
goes wrong, they tend to focus on who is
to blame rather than concentrate on
exactly what is wrong and how to prevent
it; they are intolerant of what they see as
dissent (it may just be someone's
creativity), so it is difficult for their
subordinates to contribute or develop.
b. Team Leadership (High Task, High
Relationship). This type of leaders
lead by positive example and endeavour
to foster a team environment in which all
team members can reach their highest
potential both as team members and as
people. They encourage the team to
reach goals as effectively as possible,
while also working tirelessly to strenghten
the bond among various team members.
They normally form and lead some of the
most productive teams.
c. Country Club Leader (Low Task, High
Relationship). This category of leaders
use predominantly reward power to
maintain discipline and encourage the
team to accomplish its goals. Conversely,
they are almost incapable of employing
the more punitive, coercive and
legitimate powers. This inability results
from fear that using such powers could
jeopardize relationships with other team
members.
d. Impoverish Leader (Low Task, Low
Relationship). Leaders who use
“delegate and disappear” management
style. Since they are not committed in
either task accomplishment or
maintenance they essentially allow their
team to do whatever it wishes and prefer
to detach themselves from the team
process by allowing the team to suffer
from series of power struggles.
The most desirious place for a leader is to
be in the category of a team leader.
However, do not entirely dismiss the
other three categories as certain
situations might call for one of them. For
example, by playing the impoverished
leader, you allow your team to gain self-
reliance. As authoritarian leader you
instill a sense of discipline in an
unmotivated worker. Notwithstanding,
you must be careful to study the situation
and the forces affecting it in order to
achieve the desired result as a good
leader.
“Proverb for Leadership”
Weak leaders who have not trained their
subordinates sometime say, “My
organisation can't do without me”. Many
people, used to being at the centre of the
action begin to feel as if they're
indispensable. You have heard them, I
can't take a day off. I have to be there all
the time. I must watch my subordinate's
every move, or who knows what will
happen”. But no one is irreplaceable.
The armed forces is not going to stop
functioning because one leader no
matter how senior or central steps aside”
- Army Field Manual (FM) 22 - 100
WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER
What makes a good leader? In
otherwords words leadership traits are
necessary for you and your troop's
survival. This has to do with that quality
which makes somebody stand out and
command the respect of the followers.
As earlier stated and for emphasis sake,
to inspire your men into higher levels of
teamwork, there are certain things you
must BE, KNOW, and DO. To help you BE,
KNOW and DO, there are many principles
of leadership you must follow. Some of
the principles that make a person a great
leader are:
a. K n o w Yo u r s e l f and Seek-
Improvement. In order to know yourself,
you have to understand your BE, KNOW
and, DO attributes. Seeking self-
improvement means continually
strengthening your attributes. This can
be accomplished through self-study,
formal classes, reflection, and
interaction with others.
b. Be Technically Proficient. As a
leader, you must know your job and have
a cordial familiarity with your personnel
tasks.
c. H a v e Good Communication
Skill. Communication is the way to be
a great leader. The reason is simply; if
the leader possess other leadership
qualities but fails to communicate well,
he will never be a great leader.
Communicate with both senior and junior
cadre in the unit.
d. Honesty. The most valuable asset
of a leader is honesty. A leader
must be honest with both his
subordinates and superiors; this brings
out the integrity in a leader. This also
brings out the leader “above all else”.
e. Visionary. A good leader must be
able to look beyond where the unit is
today, and know where to take the unit to
tomorrow, and be able to use the vision to
move the unit forward. In other words,
adding value to what he or she met on
ground.
f. Mental Toughness. No one can
lead without being criticized or without
facing discouragement. A potential
leader needs mental toughness. I am
not talking of a mean leader, but a tough-
minded leader who see things as they are
and will pay the price. Leadership
creates a certain separation from one's
peers. The separation comes from
carrying responsibility that only you can
carry. A leader must be able to keep his
or her own counsel until the proper time.
g. Talk Less, Act More. Action speaks
louder than words. Leaders must be able
to put aside their concerns to listen to
their personnel. However, knowing what
is going on, and identifying the needs of
your personnel is not sufficient. The
responsive leader acts upon that
knowledge, attempting to help fulfill the
needs of the personnel, superiors, etc. A
responsive leader uses his or her
influence to solve problems for his or her
personnel, often before even being asked.
h. Consistency. L e a d e r s h i p
effectiveness is impossible without
consistency. Every leader has an
approach that is unique to them. Do not
change your personal style radically; after
all, it got you in a leadership position.
Your expectations, though subject to
modification based on the ever-changing
environment should remain as constantly
as possible. Keep things simple and
consistent.
i. Have the Ability to Stand Against
Critics. As success rate increases, your
critics multiply and become louder.
Come to peace with the fact that you will
always have a camp of people who
criticize every decision you make. They
are generally the ones who are excellent
problem-identifiers rather than
problems-solvers. Develop your skill of
repelling such critics so that they do not
diminish your confidence or enthusiasm.
It takes focus and confidence not to be
adversely effected by criticism. Strong
leaders learn the art of listening to critics,
but ultimately making decisions for the
good of the unit, not to simply please the
critics.
j. Seek Responsibility and Take
Responsibility for Your Actions. Search
for ways to guide your unit to new height,
and when things go wrong, they always
do sooner or later, do not blame others.
Analyze the situation take corrective
action, and move onto the next challenge.
k. Make Sound and Timely
Decisions. A good leader uses
good problem solving, decisive making
and planning tools.
l. Set the Example. A good leader is
a good role model for the troops. They
must not only hear what they are
expected to do, but also see. According
to Mahatma Gandhi “we must become
the change we want to see.”
m. Know your Troops and Look out for
their Well-being.
A good leader must know the human
nature and the importance of sincerely
caring for his troops.
n. Develop a Sense of Responsibility in
the Troops. A good leader must help
develop good character trait that will help
the troops carry out their professional
responsibilities.
o. Train as a Team. Tr a i n i n g as
team help in the understanding of
assigned task. Therefore, a good leader
must train as a team.
p. Use the full Capabilities of Your
Troops. By developing team spirit, a
good leader would be able to employ the
unit to its fullest capability.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A
GOOD COMMANDER AND A LEADER
I strongly believe that, the understanding
of the relationship between a good
commander and a leader would help us
understand the essence of this lecture.
In one hand, classically, command is a
process, which translates physically into
giving orders, coordination and control as
well as organizing resources, etc. On the
other hand, leadership, though a process,
influences others to accomplish an
objective while making the organization
cohesive and coherent. Command
therefore evolves in the form of activities,
while leadership evolves in the form of
attributes. However, both are strongly
inter-related in that people, resources
and objectives are the cardinal
ingredients. Consequently, the end point
of the relationship is using the people
and the resources to achieve the
organization's objective with best result.
The exercise of good command and the
influence of good leadership allow the
unit to:
a. Attain set goals. That is performing
its assigned task.
AIR TRAINER PAGE 47
b. Allows resources to be properly and
effectively utilized.
c. Provide proper feedback and
evaluation mechanism.
d. Allows proper management of
information.
e. P r o v i d e good subordination
influence and discipline, and
f. Allows proper planning, coordination
and control actions.
HOW TO BE A GOOD COMMANDER
AND LEADER
29. Every organization has its
particular and peculiar work environment
based on its task and objectives. This
dictates to a considerable level how
commanders and leaders respond to the
challenges and opportunities available in
the organization. As the Air Officer
Commanding Training Command,
Nigerian Air Force, Kaduna, my
perspective of command and leadership
are viewed through three types of actions.
These are:
a. The goals and the performance
standard I have established for my
Command.
b. The values I have established for
my Command.
c. The personnel, resourses
management and objectives attainment I
have established for my Command.
30. Successful commands have
commanders who set high standards and
goals across the entire spectrum such as
strategies, plans, meetings and
presentations, quality and reliability. In
the case of values, this reflects the
concern I have for my officers and men as
well as civilians. In addition, the
surrounding communities are not
neglected. The values define the
manner on how my Command is
administered. These issues make up my
personality or how the Command is
observed by both insiders and outsiders.
This personality defines the roles,
48 AIR TRAINER PAGE
relationships, rewards and rites that take generally considered as a fundamental
place. ingredient of warfare, without which the
outcome of any military operation cannot
31. Simply, let me summarily leave be assured. Leadership is a vector of
you with a command and leadership command and is about a positive
framework to guide you: relationship between a leader and the
- BE - KNOW - DO followers in achieving an objective. I
consider it necessary for a leader to
a. BE a professional. Examples: Be understand the standards, know himself,
loyal to the armed forces, perform human nature and his job. The qualities
selfless service, take personal that a leader should possess include
responsibility. trust, vision, judgment, courage and
b. BE a professional who possess proficiency amongst others. Factors that
good character traits. Examples: affect command were also enumerated.
H o n e s t y, competence, c a n d o r, These include the mission, the people,
commitment, integrity, courage, the chain of command, the unit
straightforwardness and imagination. environment as well as your family. What
c. KNOW the four factors of makes a good commander and factors of
leadership. This is follower, leader, leadership as well as leadership types
communication and situation. were also highlighted.
d. KNOW yourself. Examples:
strengths and weakness of your 33. Thereafter, some points on what
character, knowledge and skills. makes a good leader was discussed and
e. KNOW human nature. Examples: the relationship between a good
Human needs, emotions and how people commander and a good leader was
respond to stress. enumerated. Some tactical actions on
f. KNOW your job. Examples: be how to be a good commander and a
proficient and be able to train others in leader were also highlited It is important
their tasks. to note that my perspective of command
g. KNOW your units. Examples: and leadership are viewed on the goals
where to go for help, its climate and and performance standard I have set for
culture, who the unofficial leaders are. my command, the values and the
h. DO provide direction. Examples: personnel, resources management and
goal setting, problem solving, decision the objectives l have established to attain.
making and planning. Finally, I proposed a guide under 3 broad
i. Do implement. Example: headings of what a leader must BE, what
communication, coordination, he must KNOW, and what he must DO. As
supervision and evaluating. future commanders, It is therefore my
believe that the issues raised in this
CONCLUSION presentation if imbibed and further
studied by you, would go a long way to
32. In conclusion gentlemen, it has making you good commanders and
been identified in this presentation that leaders.
command is a full time responsibility that
subsumes duties of a leader while
leadership is a full-time duty that is
influence by command directives. I
concluded that command and leadership
are so inextricably entwined that one
quality is bound to the quality of the other.
AVM MD Umar delivered this paper to students
It has been pointed out that leadership is of Senior Course 32 of the Armed Force Command
and Staff College, Jaji - Nigeria
Evolving a Virile System of Manpower Development to
Meet the Challenges of the Present Economic Meltdown
INTRODUCTION
The prospect of organizational goal attainment depends
largely on the engagement and or enlistment of the right caliber
of personnel in terms of both skill and level of competence.
Even where the services of an individual with the prerequisite
skill is engaged, such a personnel would still require some
measure of training to properly fit into the job and adapt to the
specific requirements of the employer-organization. Further
more, existing employees require some training from time to
time in order to upgrade and or update their skills if they must
continually remain relevant to the scheme and goal of the
employer. This is more so given the dynamic trend that has
become very evident in contemporary time consequent to the
digital revolution. In effect, technology becomes increasingly
and fast obsolete; and invariably, it is imperative that old ways
of doing things must yield ground to new, improved and more
efficient methods.
Recent developments in the global economic environment
have added yet another dimension; the global economic
meltdown with its attendant attributes and manifestations has
increased the number of uncontrollable variables that
management must take cognizance of in its manpower policy –
recruitment, training and development. Hence, if an
organization must actualize its vision and fulfill its mission,
there is the need to put in place a system of manpower
development that is capable of meeting the challenges of the
present economic meltdown.
The Global Economic Meltdown
The global economic meltdown is an issue that has currently
gained much of public attention. The genesis of the economic
crisis which is largely financial in nature was precipitated by the
collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in the United States
of America in 2008 and reverberated almost spontaneously in
virtually all the world economies but with much profound
negative consequences on the larger or developed economies.
Sub-prime lending is the practice of lending, mainly in the form
of mortgages for the purchase of residences, to borrowers who
do not meet the usual criteria of borrowing at the lowest
prevailing market rate of interest. In credit risk analysis, every
loan request is subjected to the 5Cs of credit: Capital,
Character, Capacity, Collateral and Condition. Another tool that
is identical is C-A-M-P-A-R-I which implies Character, Ability,
Margin, Purpose, Amount, Repayment and Insurance. It is only
after an acceptable score based on the above tools has been
ascertained, would a lender decide to lend. But these were
deliberately jettisoned under the sub-prime regime.
It was the rising delinquencies in the sub prime mortgage
market that triggered turbulences in the sub prime mortgage-
backed securities market leading to a financial crisis which
rapidly spread to other advanced economies. The financial
crisis subsequently created a recessionary economic
By Bamidele Adeboye Adepoju, Ph.D.
environment which negatively impacted on economies around
the world by adversely affecting trade and investment flows
and the price of key export commodities. In response to the
crisis, several actions are being taken at global level by the
major economies with a view to addressing the root causes and
the effects of the global economic and financial crises. The
measures include fiscal and monetary policy stimulus
packages aimed at boosting global consumption and
investment demand in an effort to avoid to avoid a significantly
sharper global contraction than that which has already
occurred. The measures typically entailed reduction of interest
rates, tax cuts and increased Government spending in form of
bail-outs of strategic institutions and in some cases virtual
nationalization. In addition, concrete steps are also now being
taken to reform the regulatory and supervisory frameworks
governing the financial sector. Further, the key multi-lateral
institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank have also been
mandated to play a central role in leading the global response
to the crisis and evaluating the efficacy of the various measures
that are being implemented.
A direct result of the global economic meltdown has been the
emergence of recession in the global economy. Remarkably,
such major economies as the United States of America, Japan,
and most European countries have acknowledged that their
economies have entered into recession. Simply put, an
economy is said to be in recession when it experiences
negative growth in the GDP for two consecutive quarters.
Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the value of all goods
and services produced within the confined of a country by both
nationals and non nationals resident within that country.
Nigeria, like any of the developing economies has had its own
share of the spill over of the global economic meltdown. Unlike
it was initially believed in official circle, Nigeria was not immune
from the negative consequences of the meltdown even though
the effect was not as severe. The recent move by the Central
Bank of Nigeria to inject large chunk of money into five of the
nation' commercial bank in an attempt to rescue them from total
collapse is a glaring evidence. Beside, the revenue derivable
from oil, the nation's major foreign exchange earner has been
rather unstable; there is a decline in inflow of foreign capital;
scaling down of production in the real sector with the attendant
loss of job; volatility of exchange rate and high domestic
inflation particularly in relation to imported goods, the
instability in the capital market, relatively low availability of
credit particularly in the wake of recent CBN intervention to
salvage some banks that were exposed to excessive credit risk.
Manpower Training and Development
Without any iota of doubt, it is people who constitute an
organization; not physical structure or capital goods such as
machinery, equipment and tools. It is the personnel that will be
AIR TRAINER PAGE 49
required to put other factors of production to work in order to
actualize the goal of the establishment. Optimal output is
realizable only when the workforce is given appropriate and
adequate training to make them effective and efficient. Hence,
it is imperative for purposeful organizations to invest in
manpower training and development.
Conventional training is required to cover essential work-
related skills, techniques and knowledge. The conventional
skill training is also referred to as the traditional training. The
objective of the conventional training is to make an individual
perform assigned task. Manpower development however goes
beyond the basic work-related skills; the conception is that the
most effective way to develop people is to enable learning and
personal development, with all that this implies. So, beyond the
basic work-related skills training, there is a focus on enabling
learning and personal development for people as individuals –
which extends the range of development way outside
traditional work skills and knowledge, and creates far more
exciting, liberating, motivational opportunities – for people and
for employers.
There are many different training and development methods.
Among the array of methods are: on-the-job training, informal
training, classroom training, internal training courses, external
training courses, on-the-job coaching, mentoring, training
assignment and tasks, skills training, product training,
technical training, behavioural development training, role-
playing and role-play games and exercises, attitudinal training
and development, accredited training and learning, distance
learning – which are all part of the training menu, available to
use and apply according to individual training needs and
organizational training needs.
Training is also available far beyond and outside the classroom.
More importantly, training – or learning, to look at it from the
trainee's view – is anything offering learning and
developmental experience. Training and learning development
includes aspects such as: ethics and morality; attitude and
behaviour; leadership and de termination, as well as skills and
knowledge.
It should be understood that development isn't restricted to
training – it is anything that helps a person to grow, in ability,
skills, confidence, tolerance, commitment, initiative, inter-
personal skills, understanding, self control, motivation, and
more. Invariably, what makes people effective and valuable to
any organization is their attitude. Attitude includes qualities
that require different training and learning methods. Attitude
stems from a person's mind-set, belief system, emotional
maturity, self-confidence, and experience.
The Import of the Global Economic Meltdown for Manpower
Training and Development
The global economic meltdown exerts some pressure on
organizational resources either directly or indirectly and so,
influences the extent to which financial resources could be
committed to funding manpower training and development.
Consequent to the meltdown, budget cuts will most likely affect
the amount to be voted for training and development. Further
more, the effect of inflation on the value of the fund so voted is
likely to be negative. In the same vein, the paucity of funds
might equally influence the acquisition of equipments and
facilities for internal training. Thus, organizations might be
tempted to drastically reduce their investment on manpower
training and development. Such an approach would however,
be short sighted and counter productive because investment
of resources on human capital development has a very long
50 AIR TRAINER PAGE
term benefit. So, any shortfall in the budget considered
appropriate and desirable for an organizational operational
efficiency might, in the long run affect goal attainment.
The Nigerian Air Force: Mission and Vision
The mission of the Nigerian Air Force as stated in a publication
is “Getting the force prepared for operations and successfully
conducting any operational task given”. Similarly, the vision of
the Chief of Air Staff is “To rebuild the operational capability of
the Nigerian Air Force for effectiveness and efficient
employment as a vital instrument of national policy in a rapidly
changing world”.
Remarkably, the said publication listed 'Knowledge – based
operations and Manpower Development' as one of the key
drivers of the Chief of Air Staff's Vision. This underscores the
vital role of manpower training and development in the
actualization of the NAF's mission and vision. In essence,
adequate resources must be committed to training and
development of air services personnel to ensure the realization
of goal.
Further more, it is pertinent that NAF aligns its manpower
training, and development programme with its strategic plan.
The numerical strength and quality/competence of the
personnel must necessarily be such as to ensure safe arrival at
its destination
The Challenges of Manpower Training and Development for
the NAF
The operational efficiency and effectiveness of the Nigerian Air
Force is vital to assuring the discharge of its role as a major
wing of the security apparatus of the Nigerian nation. Yet the
role demands constant upgrading and updating of the
pertinent skills since the technology required for optimal
performance undergoes improvement on a constant basis. In
effect, the knowledge and skill of yesterday cannot be
employed to solve the problem of tomorrow. The need for
manpower training and development should not be
compromised.
In order to make the best use of training opportunities, the
relevant authorities should carry out training needs analysis.
The ability to appropriately identify the training needs of
personnel is particularly important so as to ensure that the
training received is very relevant for effective job performance.
In this regard, NAF should need to plan for manpower
requirements on a periodic basis. Consequently, the budget for
manpower training and development would be based on such
a plan. In the light of the global economic meltdown, both the
legislative and executive arms of government make attempts to
prune down the size of the budget for every agency given the
level of accruing revenues. The challenge facing the NAF
Authority therefore, is being able to sell ideas with regards to
the funds required for the training and development
programmes to the relevant governmental authorities. Further
more, it is equally pertinent to ensure judicious use of funds;
particularly, being able to adequately plug potential areas of
leakages and wastes. When air personnel are given the
requisite training, the morale would, all things being equal,
high and would most likely perform optimally.
In conclusion, it is very important to stress that the current
global economic meltdown should not be an excuse for failing
to provide funds for the much needed training and
development programmes for personnel in the Nigerian Air
Force or else, national security would be unwittingly
compromised.
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AIR TRAINER PAGE 53
EDUCATION ADDS
VALUE – UNIVERSITY DON
A University Don, Dr Teresa Nmadu of the University of
Jos have said that Education is the only field that add
value and potentials thereby empowering one for his or
her future endeavours.
Dr Nmadu made the declaration while speaking at the
th
7 graduation ceremony of the Nigerian Air Force Girls
Comprehensive School Jos, recently.
In a lecture delivered at the occasion titled “Marketing
Yourself and Skill” Dr Nmadu said for one to add value,
he or she must be well educated and discover the
potentials in him, thereby giving him or her the
confidence to face every challenge in life.
She observed that, until one discovers his or her
potential, he or she cannot contribute meaningfully or
create impact in the society one belongs to and charged
the graduating students to see themselves as products
that companies would be interested to demand for; and
should constantly seek to add values to themselves.
The University Don described marketing as an
“Advertising and selling of a product” which is education
in their case and they should strive to attain the require
standard of education that would give them a better skill
for their lives stressing that, all one needs was to
discover his or her skills and utilize his or her talents in
making you different among your peers and not relent in
working towards achieving their skills.
Commenting on who may need their good potentials
and talents, the lecturer said their potentials could be
better utilize by their immediate community, office and
54 AIR TRAINER PAGE
SGT Fanzhi TC
even the institutions of higher learning.
“On your part, you should ensure that you are of good
character and associates with people with good skills
that would improve your own” she adviced.
While congratulating the graduating students, she
charged them to keep good relationships as that could
be a turning point in their lives, adding that for one to
add value to his or her life, they should be around
people with positive attitude.
In his remarks Air Officer Commanding Training
Command, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar
commended the Federal Government for the Idea of
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the gender
equality project gear towards empowering women in the
societies.
He said that Nigerian Air Force in her effort to promote
education in her various schools employed the services
of teachers to consolidate on the excellence and
standards already attained, stressing that NAF would
continue to support the school in achieving its
objectives and dreams.
While congratulating the management and teachers of
the school, AVM Umar charged them to strive towards
achieving excellence of the children.
He charged the students to be good ambassadors of the
school, thereby inculcating the morals, values and
sound discipline learned in the school.
f life gracing the occasion.
A TRIBUTE
LADI MANKAMI WUYEP: THE EXIT OF A JEWEL
For Air Marshal Jonah Domfa Wuyep (Rtd)
and members of his family, the demise of
their jewel of inestimable value about a
year ago gives them every reason to
celebrate a life well spent. Acknowledged
first as a wife and mother, the deceased
have been described by those who knew
her as a philanthropist and a humanitarian
worthy of emulation. Here are a few of the
tributes that poured in: '' She lived a very
good and cheerful life. We will all miss her.
My prayer is that the Lord Almighty
consoles her family. It is indeed a great loss
to Plateau State and the Nation at large;''
was how Mrs Pauline Tallen, Deputy
Governor of Plateau State described her.
''You touched the lives of many and your
demise is a great loss to all;'' Arch PD
Gyang.'' My heartfelt condolence to the
Wuyep family for the loss of Mrs Wuyep, the
solid pillar of the family;'' Lt Gen Theophilus
Danjuma. ''Extremely motherly. A solicitor
of the needy;'' Nanzip Sambo. ''You were an
encouragement and a pillar of strength to
us. Your character of strength saw some of
us through the hardest of times. Your
humility is unmatched;'' John Scott. ''Your
kind and hospitable disposition remains
fresh in our memories;'' Bala Dafur. ''Thank
you for imparting positively on the lives of
most of us. We will miss your motherly
advice. It was a life well spent;'' Philip
Kachina. '' We celebrate the life of an icon.
You were an exceptional woman;'' Domnan
Rimdans.
These tributes came from various
sympathisers upon hearing the exit of the
matriarch of the Wuyep family, Mrs Ladi
Mankami Wuyep, who passed on to eternal
glory on 9 January 2009.
Mrs. Ladi Mankami Wuyep was born into
the family of late Mallam Kazi Nantur Ndam
and Mama Lydia Kazi on 18 May 1952 at
Mban, Langtang North Local Government
Area of Plateau State. She was the second
of five Children. Her early educational life
started at the Sudan United Mission
Primary School, Pil- Gani from January
1958 December 1966 where she
obtained her First School Leaving
Certificate. She then proceeded to the
famous Girls High School (GHS) Gindiri in
1967 where she obtained her West African
School Certificate (WAEC) in 1971.
In her quest for excellence, she proceeded
to the prestigious Kaduna Polytechnic in
1972 to study Secretarial Studies and
graduated with a diploma in 1974. She
also obtained a diploma in Law from educational upliftment of the
UNILAG. Mrs Wuyep further attended the underprivileged. This special attribute was
Senior Administrative Course at the what led her to establish the Kazi Ndam
Administrative Staff College of Nigeria Educational Foundation (KAZNEF).
(ASCON) in 1989. Until her sudden Currently there are twenty (20) students
demise, she was a final year student of who are beneficiaries of her scholarship
political science at University of Abuja with scheme in both Langtang North and
barely six months to her graduation. Langtang South Local Government Areas.
Mrs Ladi Wuyep began her working career She gave support to the TAROHSA
on 1 August 1974 with the then Benue Educational campaigns in 2006 and 2007
Plateau State Government as a and also built and donated a modern
Confidential Secretary with the primary school block to her alma mater in
Establishment Division. In 1975, she got her native Pil Gani village. She was also
married to Air Marshal Jonah Dumfa Wuyep involved with networks for improvement of
who was then a Lieutenant in the Nigerian the Environment such as the Green
Air Force. On joining her husband in Kano, Revolution. Indeed, she will be greatly
she worked with the Kano State missed.
Government until 1979. She later joined She is survived by her husband, Air Marshal
the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria Jonah Dumfa Wuyep (Rtd), an aged
(FAAN) which was then known as Nigeria mother, Mrs. Lydia Kazi Ndam and four
Airports Authority (NAA), and rose to the children.
rank of Chief Administrative Officer.
It must be stated here that Mrs Wuyep was
a devoted Christian and a
great philanthropist who
received Christ at an early
age and was baptized at
Gindiri on the 25th October
1970. She was a pioneer
member of the then Sudan
United Mission (S.U.M)
Choir, a member of the Girls
Life Brigade (GLB) both at
Pil-Gani and Gindiri.
Sequel to the appointment
of her husband as the 14th
Chief of the Air Staff in June
2001, she naturally
assumed the National
Presidency of the Nigerian
Air Force Officers Wives
Association (NAFOWA). It is
on record that her tenure as
the President of NAFOWA
witnessed numerous life
touching projects. She
constructed the Children's
Park in Makurdi, Kaduna
and Port-Harcourt and also
built the NAFOWA National
Secretariat in Abuja. Several
nursery and daycare centres
were also constructed in
various other Nigerian Air
Force (NAF) Units in the
country.
Mrs Ladi Wuyep was
supportive of the
AIR TRAINER PAGE 55
FOOD THAT LOWERS
BLOOD PRESURE
A
healthy diet is key when it comes to lowering your blood
pressure. Optimal blood pressure is at or below 120/80 mm
Hg. If you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure, your
doctor has probably already told you the basics. You can control
blood pressure by getting to and maintaining a healthy weight;
reducing your bad cholesterol ( LDL ) if it's high; limiting the salt in
your diet; exercising; and adding calcium, vitamin D, magnesium
and potassium to your diet. The following foods are among the best
of the best when it comes to lowering your blood pressure.
Skim milk
Skim milk provides calcium and vitamin D, two nutrients that work
as a team to help reduce blood pressure by about 3 to 19 percent.
Spinach, unsalted sunflower seeds, beans (black, white, navy, lima,
pinto, kidney) Spinach, unsalted sunflower seeds and beans are all
loaded with magnesium, a key ingredient for lowering and
maintaining healthy blood pressure levels. These foods also provide
lots of potassium, a primary nutrient in the fight against high blood
pressure.
56 AIR TRAINER PAGE
By Ogechi Ohalee
Baked white Potato, banana, soybeans
These three foods provide ample potassium. Your blood levels of
potassium and sodium are inextricably linked. When potassium is
low, the body retains sodium (and too much sodium raises blood
pressure). When potassium is high, the body gets rid of sodium.
Eating potassium rich foods is important for maintaining a healthy
balance of both minerals and, by extension, for keeping blood
pressure low.
Important note: Do not take potassium supplements unless
specifically prescribed by your doctor. Too much potassium will
upset the balance, and could have serious, even life threatening
consequences.
Dark chocolate
Hooray for dark chocolate! Eating about 30 calories a day - that's
less than half an ounce of dark chocolate - was associated with a
lowering of blood pressure without weight gain or other adverse
effects.
Culled from Sunday Trust Newspaper
 TRAINING
CONFERENCE 2009:
A POSTMORTEM
By Wing Commander EK Gabkwet

Group of Officers discussing during the

Training Conference, Kano.

Air Vice Marshal Clement Aroriode and

Air Vice Marshal John Oshoniyi during the
Training Conference In Kano.

Another set of discussants

T
he 2009 biennial edition of the
Nigerian Air Force Training Conference
was recently held at the 303 Flying
Training School, Nigerian Air Force (NAF)
Base, Kano from 28 to 30 September 2009.
The occasion, which was adjudged by many
as a huge success was attended by several
officers, both serving and retired, who at
some point in their career were involved in
training management. While welcoming
guests to the 2- day event, the Air Officer
Commanding(AOC) Training Command (TC),
Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar
said that the 2009 Training Conference
would focus on matters that aim at
improving training and career progression in
the Service. It was therefore in line with the
Chief of the Air Staff vision to rebuild the
operational capability of the NAF for
effective and efficient employment as a vital
instrument of national power in a rapidly
changing world that the theme of the
Conference was chosen to read: Enhancing
NAF Operational Capability Through
effective Training. It was in this vain that the
AOC charged the participants to bring their
vast experiences to bear through open and
frank discussions on ways to overcome the
challenges of training in the Service. The
AOC TC also used the occasion to reassure
the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of his
Command's readiness to continue to
provide realistic, cost effective and
purposeful training to actualize the CAS'
Vision.
In his goodwill message at the occasion, the
Executive Governor of Kano State, Mallam
Ibrahim Shekarau stressed the importance
of military against external aggression and
extreme disquiet from within. The Governor,
who was represented by the Special
Assistant on Private Schools and Vocational
Education, Alhaji Ado Mohammed, also
informed the august gathering that
professionalism could only be sustained

AIR TRAINER PAGE 57

through continuous training and evaluation
of set targets which are very desirable. He
also used the occasion to call on the Federal
Government to consider the subject of
repositioning the Armed Forces by way of
training equipment and motivating a
cardinal budgetary provision.
The CAS, Air Marshal Oluseyi Olusegun
Petinrin who was represented by the Air
Officer Operations, Air Vice Marshal Anene
Okafor commended Training Command for
organising the Conference. He also
expressed appreciation to the Kano State
Government for the cordial relationship and
co-operation the NAF enjoyed in the State.
He charged those attending the Conference
to come up with better plans on how to
move the Service forward in the conduct of
its training activities.
The first paper delivered at the Conference
was titled, ''Evolving a Virile System of
Manpower Development to meet the
challenges of the Present Economic
meltdown''. It was presented by Dr Bamidele
Adepoju, a Senior Lecturer with the
Department of Business Administration at
the Bayero University, Kano. In his
submission, Dr Adepoju stated that
organizations might be tempted to
drastically reduce their investment on
manpower training and development due to
the global economic meltdown which exerts
some pressure on organizational resources
either directly or indirectly. This situation, he
emphasized would influence the extent to
which financial resources could be
committed to funding manpower training
and development. Despite this, he was of
the view that the need for manpower
training and development should not be
compromised. Dr Adepoju therefore
suggested that in order to make the best
use of training opportunities, the NAF
should carry out it training needs analysis
which was to appropriately identify the
training needs of personnel. This was
particularly important so as to ensure that
the training received is very relevant for
effective job performance. In this regard,
the Senior Lecturer said that the NAF would
need to plan for manpower requirements on
a periodic basis. Consequently, the budget
for manpower training and development
would be based on such a plan. In the light
of the global economic meltdown, Dr
Adepoju also stated that both the legislative
and executive arms of government make
attempts to prune down the size of the
budget for every agency given the level of
accruing revenues. As such, he believes
58 AIR TRAINER PAGE
that the challenge facing the NAF Authority
therefore, would be to sell ideas with
regards to the funds required for the training
and development programmes to the
relevant governmental agencies. He further
stated that, it was equally pertinent to
ensure judicious use of funds; particularly,
being able to adequately plug potential
areas of leakages and wastes.
In the second paper delivered at the
conference titled, ''Repositioning NAF
Training Policy to Enhance Operational
Capability'' the presenter, Air Commondore
Micheal Aiyelowo identified that the present
NAF training policy is deficient in the
definition of its objectives. The Senior
Officer was of the view that objectives of
courses as stated in the policy must not be
only to impart training but It must also
specify what the recipient should be
capable of doing at the end of the training.
He said that in the engineering trade for
example, the policy should state that after a
particular level of training, an officer must
be able to supervise the conduct of second
or third line maintenance. In this case,
according to Air Commodore Aiyelowo,
training would not be unidirectional but
would also evoke measurable response
based on set standards that would enable
the planners to monitor and evaluate the
process. Among several other deficiencies
identified in the NAF policy, the presenter
also stated that the policy was neither
proactive nor reactive in responding to
changes in the geostrategic environment
and in considering technological
advancement. This, according to Air
Commodore Aiyelowo, is because the main
policy has not been adequately updated to
reflect various reviews. For example Officers
Regiment Courses and Intelligence Trades
list courses that should be general
knowledge to all personnel as specialist
courses. The paper went further to identify
certain issues that impede the
implementation of the policy. They include
improper domestication of the policy by
trade specialists, poor selection process
and inadequate funding among others.
Air Vice Marshal Osita Obierika(Rtd)
presented the third and final paper at the
Conference. In his typical manner, the
former Air Officer Commanding Training
Command left his audience spellbound. His
paper, titled, ''Optimising Training to meet
NAF operational requirements,'' was
supposed to be the curtain raiser and the
retired Senior Officer did not disappoint.
Having discussed the theory, Challenges
and Limitations of Training in the NAF, Air
Vice Marshal Obierika suggested some
strategies that would enhance training in
the NAF thereby leading to operational
effectiveness. Some of the strategies
include the amendment to AFP 248. The
Senior Officer stated that while framers of
the AFP 248 had very lofty ideas for the
Service Air Force, the NAF had not been able
to carry out training courses according. to
the contents of AFP 248 mainly due to
contradictions. Therefore, with the
reducing budgetary allocations, the NAF
should set up a board of officers to review
the AFP 248 to a manageable level. The
senior officer was also of the believe that
since modern air forces have become very
complex and expensive, NAF personnel
should have the intellectual capacity to
generate knowledge so as to cope with the
challenges of modern warfare. Another
strategy suggested by Air Vice Marshal
Obierika was that the NAF should be
involved in tactical exercises. According to
him, tactical exercises were held by serious
air forces in order to evaluate their training
system. These exercises could be used to
test the capability of each branch of the NAF
to perform its role. He said the reason was
that an aircraft flying generates a lot of work
down the line. Moreover, the result of the
exercise will be used in the operational
research activity employing appropriate
analytical tools. The former Air Officer
Commanding was also of the view that
appropriate resource allocations should be
made towards training while not been
unmindful of other competing demands on
the NAF budgets. Other areas on the way
forward as suggested by the erudite Senior
Officer included procurement and
installation of equipments, upgrading of
infrastructure, training of more instructors
and giving instructors their regular postings
as stipulated in the Executive Regulations.
Air Vice Marshal Obierika rounded up his
strategies by advising the NAF on leadership.
According to him, leadership is a strategy
that webs all other strategies to effective
performance. It was in that regard that he
feels NAF leadership at all levels of training
should display principle centred leadership
for the success of the training systems.
All papers presented at the Conference
evolved intellectual and thought provoking
discussion sessions that resulted in 26 well
articulated resolutions.
 Captain of Wuyep Lakeside Golf Club,
Wing Commander Aliyu Salihu Giving the
vote of thanks.

Air Officer Commanding

TRAINING COMMAND
GOLF TOURNAMENT

Maj Gen Kamarudeen Role in a handshake with a guest. Golfers giving three hearty cheers.

AVM Leks, AVM Umar and AVM Ayeni in a group photograph. Air Commodre EE Osim presenting a gift to one of the winners.

Air Commodore Ogunnaike welcoming the Guest of

Wing Commander Jamil Gaiya(middle) and other Golfers. Honour, AVM AE Okafor.

The GOC 1 Division, Major General Role discussing

AVM MD Umar teeing off at the golf tournament. AOC TC, AVM MD Umar presenting a gift to AVM Okafor
with the SASO, Air Commodore Ogunnaike

AIR TRAINER PAGE 59

 2009 TRAINING CONFERENCE IN PICTURES- KANO

Group photograph of participants.

L-R Air Vice Marshals Nura Imam(Rtd), Mukhtar L-R Cpl NA Umama,Sgt EP Babale and WO EG Nnamani Air Vice Marshals Samuel Atti(Rtd) and OC Obierika(Rtd)
Muhammed (Rtd) and Anthony Okpere(Rtd). during the conference.

Air Vice Marshals Idi Musa(Rtd) and Muhammed Umaru (Rtd) Air Vice Marshals Nura Imam(Rtd)interacting with AVM Obierika(Rtd) Air Vice Marshal MD Umar and Maj Gen KA Role.
at the Training Conference.

AOC TAC, AVM Jones Babalola (Left),and AOC TC, AVM MD Umar presents a gift to
Some guests at the Conference.
AVM Dick-Iruenabere AVM Sunny Gberevbie.

60 AIR TRAINER PAGE

Air Vice Marshals Ishaq Abdulahaman(Rtd) and Felix Gbadebo(Rtd).
Air Vice Marshal Dick - Iruenabere and Navy
Captain HB Babalola.
AVM MD Umar interacting with Air Cdre Mike Ekwere
at a cocktail in honour of participants.
Group of discussants consisting of Major - General? KA Role,
AVM AS Leks and other senior officers.
AVM MD Umar presenting a gift
to the representative of the Chief of Air Staff, AVM AE Okafor.
AVM MD Umar introducing AVM Adeniyi Ayeni to the
Deputy Governor of Kano State, Engineer Tijanni Mohammed
Gwarzo.
The Master of Ceremony, Gp Capt Kingsley Lar (right)and the
Command Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Training Command, Wing
Commander EK Gabkwet.
Air Commodore CN Chukwu, Director of Policy at Headquarters,
Nigeria Air Force Abuja, making his contributions during the
Conference.
AVM Anene Okafor presenting a gift to AVM Ishaq Abdulrahaman(Rtd)
during the Conference
AIR TRAINER PAGE 61
 Governor David Jang of Plateau State(Sitted middle) with members of the Plateau State Executive Council
and the visiting AOC TC and his team.

PICTURES OF
AOC TC
FAMILIARISATION

Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State Welcoming’ AVM MD Umar

to Government House Jos. TOUR AVM Umar seems to be
telling Governor Sambo that,”We are grateful for your
support” as he presents a gift to the Governor.

AVM MD Umar with Governor Namadi Sambo

at sir Kashim Ibrahim House.

AVM Umar at Government House, Kaduna Governor Namadi Sambo welcoming AVM Umar
to government house.

62 AIR TRAINER PAGE

 AVM MD Umar in a handshake with Wg Cdr RT Ojo at The Commander 345 Aero - Medical Hospital, Air Commodore Abubakar Njidda
the 325 GTG. conducting the AOC round hospital wards when the AOC visited the unit.

AOC TOUR OF UNITS UNDER COMMAND

Commander 325 GTG, Air Commodore JD Dania briefing the AOC The Commander 333 Logistics Group, Air Commodore Eko Osim
when the later visited the Group. conducting the AOC Training Command, AVM MD Umar round his unit.

AVM MD Umar arriving at the 335 BSG in company of his principal Staff AVM MD Umar being briefed by Commandant of AFSS Agbani,
Officers. Gp Capt Koji Diwa.

Commander 335 Base services Group, Air Commodore Labaran Haliru conducting AVM MD Umar listening to explanation from Gp Capt Peter Abel during his
the AOC round the computer Lab for pupils of Air Force Primary School Kaduna. tour of 305 FTS,Enugu.

AIR TRAINER PAGE 63

 CPL Ani Anthony & His wife Veronica
during their wedding mass @ St. Angnes
Catholic Church Maryland Lagos.
Master Melvin Olisah Okocha,
Son of Mr and Mrs Emeka Okocha
Born on the 2nd of April, 2009.
Sgt and Mrs Timothy Fanzhi during their
wedding in Langtang, Plateau State.
64 AIR TRAINER PAGE
CPL & Mrs Edema H During their
Nana Fatima, Daughter of FS & Mrs Imam MA
wedding in Lagos.
Born On 25th September, 2009.
SOCIAL
DIARY
Nanfe Faith Fanzhi Samuel Oche Orinya
Daughter of Sgt and Mrs Timothy Fanzhi Son of Mr & Mrs Ochibo RO
Born on the 19th May, 2009. Born 16th April, 2009.
Sqn Ldr (Rev Canon) OG Okoye Presenting Cpl Abdullahi Hussaini and his wife
Marriage Certificate to Cpl and Mrs Emmanuel during their wedding in Ogbomosho
Jacob during their wedding at NAF Protestant Oyo State.
Kaduna.
 BANK

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