From Jude Dangwam, Jos

The Nigerian Army has flagged off the Inter-Division Combat Platoon Obstacle Crossing Competition 2024 in the country aimed at identifying gaps in the combatant skills of personnel in attaining its mandates of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country and subduing other security challenges confronting the nation.

The Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja represented by the Deputy Chief of Training Maj Gen. Musa Etsu-Ndagi stated this on Thursday during the opening ceremony of the one week competition held at the 3rd Armoured Division Nigeria Army, Maxwell Khobe Cantonment Barracks near Jos Plateau State Capital.He noted that the competition seeks to improve the endurance, team spirit, esprit-de-Corps, leadership skills and obstacle crossing techniques of the competitors in pursuit of his command philosophy which is, “To Transform the Nigerian Army into a well Trained, Equipped and Highly Motivated Force Towards Achieving our Constitutional Responsibilities within a Joint Environment”. Lagbaja maintained that the Obstacle crossing skills is no doubt a major recruitment of troops in combat. “This will enable us not only to realistically assess the obstacle crossing capability of the Nigerian Army, but also to identify areas for improvement in the skills of obstacle crossing,” he emphasizedThe General Officer Commanding(GOC) 3rd Armoured Division and Commander Operation Safe Haven OPSH Major General Abdusalam Abubakar reiterated that the security challenges in the country are multi-faceted and multi-dimensional in nature which requires high level of training, endurance and stamina hence the need for continuous training of troops.”It is therefore paramount to state that, this competition is not only to maintain proficiency, but to also continually enhance our capabilities, to effectively tackle the evolving and dynamic security threats. It is common knowledge that the military profession is hinged on teamwork and cooperation.”Therefore, this obstacle crossing competition would underscore the significance of teamwork while de-emphasing individual brilliance performance.”Abubakar assured that adequate arrangements have been made for the welfare of participating personnel throughout the duration of the Competition.”Let me also remind you, that although the security situation in Jos is relatively calm, you need to exercise utmost caution in terms of movements outside your accommodation area. I urge you to restrict your movement to the designated accommodation areas and avoid unnecessary movements throughout this competition,” he cautionedThe 2024 Army Obstacles competition involves Troops in the 8 Division of the Nigerian Army with 8 platoons are expected to undergo various obstacles from 24 to 28 July,2024 respectively.