Former military president General Ibrahim Babangida has called for urgent and deeper collaboration between local communities and Nigeria’s security agencies, arguing that the relationship between citizens and the armed forces was one of the most critical tools available for addressing the country’s worsening security environment.
Babangida made the appeal at his Minna residence while receiving participants of Senior Course 48 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, telling the officers that community engagement was not a peripheral dimension of military work but a central and indispensable component of effective national security strategy.
He emphasized the importance of study tours and strategic learning exchanges in expanding the knowledge base and operational capacity of senior military officers, particularly in areas related to national security and community relations, and commended the college for sustaining a culture of professional military development that remained relevant to the challenges of the present era.
Delegation leader Air Commodore O.O. Obasa honored Babangida’s contribution to the establishment of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, recalling that the former military president had laid the foundation stone for the Department of Air Warfare in July 1986 and commissioned it in July 1987, describing the initiative as a lasting contribution to military training and national development.
