Army Officers Empowered with Leadership, Managerial Skills for Optimal Performance

Army Officers Empowered with Leadership, Managerial Skills for Optimal Performance

Rebecca Ejifoma

Fifty lieutenant colonel and colonel of the Nigerian Army were recently empowered with leadership and managerial skills to help them achieve their mandates at their various commands.

This was the thrust of the second phase of the three-day Leadership Development Seminar 2021, at the Nigerian Army Cantonment, Apapa.

It was held in conjunction with the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration (NASFA) and the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered).

The special guest of honour and Commander Corps of Signals, Major General Abiodun Owolabi, acknowledged the imperative of leadership skills among the officers.

“We all know that the challenge of leadership is what is important in all organisations. And every organisation that gets its leadership right is bound to achieve its mandate,” he noted.

He said this leadership development seminar is one of the measures designed to achieve the Chief of Army Staff’s vision.

The vision, he listed, is to have a professional Nigerian Army ready to accomplish assigned missions within a joint environment in defence of Nigeria.

“We are aware that at every level – both at the junior, middle cadre and senior levels, leadership is what motivates and drives an organisation to achieve its mandate.

“That is the core importance of the seminar being organised for our middle cadre officers.”

According to Owolabi, the theme, “Strategic Management for Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage” reveals the army’s drive in the development of leaders with cognitive abilities for management of humans and material resources.

Meanwhile, the capacity building workshop further aims to help the career progression of its personnel, equip them with the right skills, values and orientation needed for effective and efficient use of global best practices and decision-making.

In his welcome address, the Commandant, NASFA, Brigadier General Felix Ohunyeye, highlighted some of the topics for this phase.

They included strategic analysis under risk and uncertainty, value chain analysis, SWOT and PESTLE analysis, strategic planning process, gaining and sustaining competitive advantage in business, and Aligning the different parts of your organisation for maximum performance.

Ohunyeye emphasised: “It is pertinent to note that these selected topics are very important tools of defence, strategic management towards effective higher communications and a good understanding of the operational joint environment for ease of achieving NA’s constitutional roles and objectives.”

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