Vice-President Kashim Shettima, has charged passing out cadets of the 71 Regular Course (RC) of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) on loyalty, dedication and service to the nation.
Shettima, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Kana, made the call at the 34th convocation ceremony in honour of the graduating cadets of the 71 RC and Post-graduate students.
Shettima said the Nigerian government had invested hugely in training the cadets for their five years in the academy to their commissioning into the Armed Forces, which would be held on Saturday.
The vice-president emphasised that the nation was proud of the NDA and the kind of training given to the cadets.
He, therefore, said the government would continue to support the academy in all aspects including human resources and the provision of the needed facilities to ensure it produced the best officers for the nation’s armed forces.
“The NDA cadets are future Generals, we will continue to maintain the integrity and sovereignty of our dear nation,”Shettima said.
Also, the Commandant of NDA, Maj.-Gen. John Ochai, said apart from the military training, the institution was also a renowned research University, which was why they established the Biodiversity and Conservation Centre.
He explained that the centre would focus on research on the environment, the consequences of global warming and the current world- wide challenges faced in the environment.
Ochai equally said that the recent flood witnessed in some parts of the country was an example of the contemporary and future challenges the biodiversity and conservation centre would research on.
He said, “We want to see how we can undermine such impact on our environment and society, hoping that in the future, through seminars, special studies and research.
”We will produce solutions to ensure that all the environmental challenges facing us are resolved.”
According to the commandant, the centre was the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa, where they intended it to be a centre of excellence in environmental studies and sustainability.
Doing so, he said, was also the academy’s contribution to national development within the last academic year.