The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Olonisakin, has said that the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East zone exposed the inadequacy in joint operational planning and training by the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Olonisakin made the remark at the take-off of the Export Joint Operational Planning course for members of the Armed Forces on Monday at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja.
Represented at the event by the Director of Policy at the Defence Headquarters, Maj-Gen Kasimu Abdulkarim, the CDS said that the recent experiences in the North East zone underscored the need to build operational capacity in the act of planning for joint operations.
He said that training is the bedrock of every endeavour including the military, which explains why he made it one of his policy thrusts.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria have been involved in a series of joint operations in various parts of the country…specifically the ongoing joint operations in the North East.
“…We have reviewed some past and ongoing joint operations and identified gaps which include lack of adequate joint operational planning among others.
“This has underscored the need to build operational capacity for the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the act of planning for joint operations.
“It is on this score that this training course is designed to further enhance your understanding of all the processes involved in a successful export joint operational planning.
“It is expected that on return to your various units, you will bring the knowledge you gained here to bear on export planning process on the ongoing and future operations”, he said.
Speaking to Journalists shortly after the opening ceremony, the Team Leader, British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT), United Kingdom, Commander John Barratt, said that the training course is at the instance of Nigerian Defence Headquarters and is expected to last for one week.
