Effective Leadership, Critical in Tackling Security Challenges – Defence Minister

Effective Leadership, Critical in Tackling Security Challenges – Defence Minister

By ALEX UANGBAOJE ‎

Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen Mansur Dan-Ali said, effective leadership is critical ‎in order to tackle the security challenges being faced with Nigeria as Nations.

The minister stated this in Kaduna during a lecture and public presentation/launch of the book titled, “Leadership and Complex Military Operations”‎ at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).

Represented by Dr. David Gende, a director in the ministry of defence‎, Mansur, who was also the special guest of honour at the event said as a nation all hands most be on deck in looking at the issues of concern not just in military circle but society in general. 

‎”Leadership is quite critical especially at moment of our history, so deliberate effort must be done to ensure that we understand it from the perspective that leadership doesn’t stand in isolation, leadership has to do with the man in front and those following him behind. 

“Essentially, every Nigerian plays a part in ensuring that leadership succeeds, and I urged that we look at it in a broader perspective that today we have a government in place that is turning a very difficult course, we should support by understanding that there are some level of sacrifice we must make in order for us to achieve the objectives set for us.” he noted.

‎On his part, Commandant, NDA, Maj Gen Mohammed Ibrahim, noted that NDA has always emphasised on not just preparing its personnel for operation, but instill the necessary leadership quality in them. 

‎According to him, “the NDA has always anchored his training on training the young leader who are the masters of any military operation, be it conventional or unconventional. 

“So this book is an added feather in that effort because the most important thing is to give the young cadets as much volume as possible so as to impact knowledge in them.”‎

Author of the book Professor Chukwuma Osakwe‎, who is the Director Centre for the Study of Leadership and Complex Military Operations, NDA hinted that the idea of the book is the need for leaders of the country to come up on a dialogue table to discuss the concept of leadership. 

“The authority decide to have a centre that will be a think factory on the issue, the concept, the practice of leadership, and I also noticed that we have a dealt on literature that was why we at the centre decided to put together a work that will serve as a take off for the robust discuss that is necessary on the issue and concept of leadership especially as it affect use in Nigeria. 

“We have to at the book and highlight some of the issues that was raised and continue the discuss and inform policy makers and policy implementors on how the issue of leadership will be properly managed in Nigeria.