The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, says the Armed Forces of Nigeria must be adaptive and innovative to stay ahead of emerging security threats and challenges.
Ogalla, represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans (Navy), Rear Adm. Ibrahim Dewu, made the call at the Second Quarter 2025 Defence Headquarters and Services Transformation Seminar, in Abuja.
The theme of the seminar is “Transforming the Future, Leveraging Lessons Learned to Build a More Adaptive and Innovative Military.”
He highlighted the need for modernisation and forward-thinking strategies to stay ahead of emerging threats and challenges in an increasingly complex security landscape.
The CNS said the ever-evolving nature of Nigeria’s security landscape demanded continuous innovation and adaptability in their strategic thinking and operational planning.
According to him, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, has over the years, demonstrated commitments to modernizing military systems and approaches to ensure the protection of national interests.
“This year’s theme underscores the value of learning from the past operations, refining our doctrines and structures and implementing adaptive measures that will enable us to stay ahead in an increasingly complex battlefield.“
The seminar’s focus on adaptability and innovation is also in line with the Chief of Defence Staff’s shared vision to entrench a proactive defence culture across the services.
“It emphasised the need for institutional learning and doctrinal evolution that will drive the transformation of the Armed Forces of Nigeria into a force that is not only resilient and versatile but also strategically positioned to respond to present and emerging threats,” he said.
Ogalla expressed hope that the discourse during the seminar would reinforce their collective resolve to embrace forward-thinking ideas in support of national defence imperatives.
The Chief of Naval Transformation, Rear Adm. Monday Unurhiere, represented by Rear Adm. John Okeke, said the seminar was designed to feature meaningful discourse on contemporary issues related to the armed forces.
Unurhiere said the objective was to explore and interrogate viable approaches to building a more adaptive and innovative military.“This is, of course, geared toward enhancing our operational and administrative effectiveness.“
The Armed Forces of Nigeria recognize that to continue to be operationally effective, we must learn from the past and institutionalize these lessons to develop a conscious idea that is innovative and adaptive as a core enabler of our defence imperatives.
“It is envisaged that the deliberations at this seminar will stimulate critical thinking, knowledge sharing, and actionable recommendations that will contribute meaningfully to the joint transformation objective of the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking with newsmen on the sidelines, the Director of Transformation, Defence Headquarters, Rear Adm. Habila Zakaria, said the evolving security challenges required innovative approaches to tackle them.
Zakaria said the evolving nature of the threats also affects the doctrine and modus operandi of the military, adding that there was a need to evolve strategies to nip the threats in the bud.
