The Nigerian Army recently organized a one-day Seminar for Warrant Officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces and their equivalents in the Police and other Para-Military Agencies.
The Seminar with the theme “Warrant Officers and Mentorship” was aimed at complementing certain basic courses and refresher programmes necessary for training Warrant Officers and their equivalents in the discharge of their unique duties as role models to bridge the gap between commissioned and non-commissioned officers.
The guest speaker, Ex- Warrant Officer Lee Graham of the British Army, challenged the participants to draw lessons from their challenges and peculiarities of various establishments through cross- fertilization of ideas in the execution of their roles in the most efficient and professional way.
In his keynote address, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, ably represented by Maj Gen DD Ahmadu CTOP charged the participants to be unrelenting in detecting and checkmating any act of neglect and unethical conduct on the part of the subordinates.
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He reiterated that the Warrant Officers should be primarily responsible for maintaining standards and discipline and act as a parental figure to the subordinates and also to junior officers even though they technically outrank them.
He also added that, they are Commanding Officer’s strongest supporters, and can only do so by promoting his vision, elaborating on his intent, and explaining his direction to the Non-Commissioned of the unit.
“In the discharge of your duties, you should not hesitate to intimate your Commanders of any issue that you think can be beneficial or prejudicial to the unit’s success and service discipline”, he said.
“It is in recognition of your distinctive pivotal roles that I earlier said my vision cannot be optimized without having competent Warrant Officers who are professional in the discharge of their roles both in peace and war time”.
Earlier, the Director General, Nigerian Army Resource Centre Maj Gen Johnny Hamakim (rtd) urged the Warrant Officers to maximize the opportunity provided by the Seminar to broaden their knowledge and skill particularly in the mentoring of subordinates.
He thanked the Chief of Army Staff, for the continued support given to the Nigerian Army Resource Centre to be in the forefront of driving his vision towards achieving a Nigerian Army that is professional in the discharge of its constitutional roles. The high point of the event was the presentation of certificates to the participants.
