By Sumaila Ogbaje
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, on Tuesday advised personnel of the Nigerian Army to maintain fitness to enhance their operational readiness.
Yahaya gave the advice at the opening of the Directorate of Army Physical Training Officers’ Conference 2023 in Abuja.
He was represented by the Deputy Chief of Training (Training and Exercises), Maj.-Gen. Musa Etsu-Ndagi.
The theme of the conference is, “Enhancing the Capacity of DAPT for Improved Fitness of Army Personnel in 21st Century Operating Environment.”
COAS said the directorate had taken giant strides on reinvigorating fitness training in the army towards the achievement of specific training objectives for the year while preparing for the future.
He said his intent on training for the year was to have a better positioned force that would express its readiness to accomplish all assigned missions in all single or joint service operating environment.
According to him, the need for appraisal of the various training innovations and initiatives, which have been implemented across the Nigerian army in the last two to three years, has also made this conference timely.
“This will afford the DAPT the opportunity of sharing thoughts with resource persons who have been on the field and have been at the receiving end of the challenging fitness training regime of the last two years.
“Thus it will lead to evolution of steps that will fine-tune or review our current approaches to fitness training,” he said.
Yahaya said this was why he approved the expansion of DAPT and the review of its organogram, to make it work maximally.
“It is in the light of the foregoing that I favourably considered the creation of one new autonomous command and three staff directorates.
“Let me, therefore, enjoin you to consider in your deliberations pragmatic ways for fitness training for deployed troops and measures to address the large number of absentees from the Physical Efficiency Test.
“Let me also assure you of my firm belief in the capacity of DAPT and its leadership to continue to deliver on the mandate for fitness of troops for combat readiness towards the actualisation of my vision.
“The vision is for a Professional NA Ready to Accomplish Assigned Missions Within a Joint Environment in Defence of Nigeria,” he said.
The Acting-Director of DAPT, Brig.-Gen. Olawale Fawole, said the conference was the first since the relocation of the directorate’s headquarters from Zaria to Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment, Giri, Abuja.
Fawole said DAPT had always sought for opportunities to enhance the capacity of its personnel towards the actualisation of its mandate on fitness training.
He said a lot of encomiums had been showered on the directorate for raising the consciousness of personnel on fitness and combat readiness in the last two years.
Fawole, however, recognised that there was still so much to be achieved.
He said the theme of the conference was conceptualised and designed to appraise current strategies on fitness training across formations and Nigerian army schools.
“This is with a view to fine-tuning or reviewing our approach for better results and efficiency.
“It is, therefore, my expectation that all participants, especially those of us in the DAPT, will maximise this opportunity, magnanimously provided by COAS,” he said.
Fawole commended his predecessors for the foundation laid towards re-positioning the directorate, and various initiatives and innovations.
He said the directorate under his watch had evolved innovations in the areas of training and infrastructural development through the support of the COAS. (NAN)