PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Nigerian Army recruits first set of women into regular combatant commission
Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - For the first time since it was established in January 1964, the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is to start the recruitment and training of women into its Regular Combatant Commission, a formerly exclusive club for males.
Online sale of forms for the females, who will be part of the 63 Regular Course of the NDA cadets resumed Monday and is expected to end in two weeks.
Until now, women were admitted into the Short-Service Combatant Commission, Direct Regular Commission, Direct Short-Service Commission and the Executive Commission but not the Regular Combatant Commission, which entitles such officers to aspire to the position of Service Chiefs or Chief of Defence Staff.
Minister of Defence Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, told journalists in Abuja Monday the new policy was a result of “an order” by President Goodluck Jonathan that the formerly males only Regular Combatant Commission be open to both sexes.
Kayode, however, said the entry of female cadets would not lead to the lowering of standards, especially “the rigorous and physically-tasking training” the institution is known for.
According to the minister, “it is in this consideration that the Presidential directive was given in order to provide the female officers the same opportunity of rising to the pinnacle of their profession. The directive is also aimed at providing women career opportunities that would allow them to compete with their male counterparts for the highest offices in the military."
Under the new policy, women, like their male counterparts, will also be able to command major units of the army, fly fighter jets in the air force and be “seamen officers who could command a combat sea-going vessel of the Nigerian Navy.”
President Jonathan believes that “every Nigerian, irrespective of gender or affiliation, should be given equal opportunity to excel in his or her chosen field of life.”
The training of the female regular combatant cadets, along with their male counterparts, will be at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, where they will pass out with a degree in a chosen academic field and a regular combatant commission into the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The minister said: “With this directive, history is being made as it has never happened before in the annals of Nigerian military, because though, we have women technicians, medics, paratroopers, tank drivers and commissioned women in various services, the armed forces have never had women as regular combatant officers."
Kayode noted that in implementing the new policy, “we will follow international best practices. We want to have a strong armed forces and we believe that keeping women out of it is not in the best interest of the Nigerian military but there will be no special standards for the female cadets.
"There will be no distinction. The only distinction will be that they will live in different hostels. They will be exposed to the same academic and physical training,” he asserted.
-0- PANA MON/BOS 14Feb2011
Online sale of forms for the females, who will be part of the 63 Regular Course of the NDA cadets resumed Monday and is expected to end in two weeks.
Until now, women were admitted into the Short-Service Combatant Commission, Direct Regular Commission, Direct Short-Service Commission and the Executive Commission but not the Regular Combatant Commission, which entitles such officers to aspire to the position of Service Chiefs or Chief of Defence Staff.
Minister of Defence Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, told journalists in Abuja Monday the new policy was a result of “an order” by President Goodluck Jonathan that the formerly males only Regular Combatant Commission be open to both sexes.
Kayode, however, said the entry of female cadets would not lead to the lowering of standards, especially “the rigorous and physically-tasking training” the institution is known for.
According to the minister, “it is in this consideration that the Presidential directive was given in order to provide the female officers the same opportunity of rising to the pinnacle of their profession. The directive is also aimed at providing women career opportunities that would allow them to compete with their male counterparts for the highest offices in the military."
Under the new policy, women, like their male counterparts, will also be able to command major units of the army, fly fighter jets in the air force and be “seamen officers who could command a combat sea-going vessel of the Nigerian Navy.”
President Jonathan believes that “every Nigerian, irrespective of gender or affiliation, should be given equal opportunity to excel in his or her chosen field of life.”
The training of the female regular combatant cadets, along with their male counterparts, will be at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, where they will pass out with a degree in a chosen academic field and a regular combatant commission into the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The minister said: “With this directive, history is being made as it has never happened before in the annals of Nigerian military, because though, we have women technicians, medics, paratroopers, tank drivers and commissioned women in various services, the armed forces have never had women as regular combatant officers."
Kayode noted that in implementing the new policy, “we will follow international best practices. We want to have a strong armed forces and we believe that keeping women out of it is not in the best interest of the Nigerian military but there will be no special standards for the female cadets.
"There will be no distinction. The only distinction will be that they will live in different hostels. They will be exposed to the same academic and physical training,” he asserted.
-0- PANA MON/BOS 14Feb2011
