The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, says combat arms among other components of the Nigeria Army (NA) manoeuvre were key to its  operations. Combat arms are the Infantry and Armour Corps of the NA who specially and directly involve in battle. Yahaya said this at the opening of the 2022 Combat Arms Training Week at the Jaji Military Cantonment on Tuesday in Kaduna.

The theme of the event is “Effective Combat Arms Manoeuvre: A Panacea for Success in Battle”.

He said that the Nigerian Army Infantry and Armoured Corps were the Corps upon which the army hinged its operational plans in furtherance to his vision for the NA, hence the importance of the training week.

Yahaya also noted that the early conduct of the event would enable timely formulation and implementation of key training decisions and policies related to combat arms engagements, especially at the tactical level of operations.

He explained that the contemporary security challenges confronting Nigeria demanded an Army that was versatile and well poised to defend its common wealth and people from all forms of internal and external aggressions. “It is my conviction that this will be achieved in line with my command’s philosophy which is aptly anchored on the cardinal pillars of professionalism, readiness, administration and cooperation.

“Since my assumption of the command, the NA under my watch, has procured large quantities of military hard and soft wares to enhance its combat capabilities. “Our procurement has focused on those Infantry mechanised and armoured assets which have proven to be key force multipliers in the conduct of all land battles in joint operating environment across the country. 

“It is therefore expected that through effective training, proper planning and result-oriented employment of these resources, our adversaries would be defeated in the shortest possible time,” Yahaya said. He restated the NA’s commitment on exploring all avenues for timely restoration of peace and security in Nigeria, noting that numerous successes were recorded in various theatres of operational engagements in spite of some prevailing challenges. 

The Commander, Infantry Corps, Major General Victor Ezugwu, said the Combat Arms Training Week was an annual training event organised to appraise the activities of the manoeuvre arms in their quest to achieve the mission of NA. Ezugwu, who spoke on his capacity and that of the Commander Armoured Corps, Maj.-Gen. Sulaiman Idris, said the event hosted both serving and retired personnel of the manoeuvre arms and other resource persons who helped to conceptualise effective strategies for enhancing the capabilities of the NA. 

He said the event underscored the increasing awareness of the need to review tactical level operations as prerequisite for the attainment of the operational imperatives of the NA. He added that forums such as the training week, provided a suitable platform through which kinetic and non-kinetic solutions to Nigeria’s contemporary security challenges could be developed. According to him, the Infantry and Armour Corps have been the greatest beneficiaries of the newly-acquired military hardware and several other interventions by the COAS since his assumption of office. 

“These gestures have indeed enhanced the operational capabilities of our respective Corps and also galvanised the morale of our troops in the execution of all assigned tasks and missions. “As such, we are under obligation to explore all available means to develop effective concepts as well as tactics, techniques and procedures that will facilitate the judicious utilisation of these platforms to deal a final blow to our adversaries,” Ezugwu said. 

He assured the COAS of the Infantry and Armour Corps readiness to continue to engage in combined arms training towards producing the desired lethal effects against adversaries in a joint environment as encapsulated in his vision for the NA.