Top executives of the Nigerian Army’s (NA) senior think-tank are due to undertake a four-day study tour of the Philippines in early May, the Philippine Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria said on Thursday, 27 April 2023.

Major General Stevenson Olugbenga Olabanji, Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) NA headquartered in Minna, the capital of Niger State some 150km away from Abuja, visited the Embassy Chancery as Head of the ten-member TRADOC NA Delegation going to Manila to meet with TRADOC Philippine Army in Camp Aguinaldo on 09 May 2023.

MGen Olabanji will be accompanied by Maj. Gen. Abdulmumin Lawal Jimoh, Chief of Training and Team Leader, as well as three brigadier generals, two colonels, one lieutenant colonel, and two majors in a program that includes a meeting with Nigerian Ambassador Folakemi Akinleye, and a tour of the capital city.

The visit was arranged by Air Commodore Ehimen Aidemota Ejodame, Defence Adviser (attaché) of the Nigerian High Commission in Malaysia, which will be visited by the Nigerian Army delegation for five days on 12-17 May 2023.

The Philippines has recently become the destination of official visits from Nigeria, with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) – the counterpart agency of both the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) – coming in April, led by NIMASA Director General Bashir Jamoh.

Charged with doctrinal training and combat development, supervising training centers, the TRADOC NA was established as a senior think-tank of the Nigerian Army in 1981 under the leadership of Major General Geoffrey Obiaje Ejiga, and currently supervises all the Army’s schools, as well as an army depot.

Before the establishment of the Nigerian Army Resources Centre (NARC) in 2015, TRADOC also served as a liaison center for the Army. TRADOC is reputably known as the alternate NA Headquarters and offers advice, ideas and probable solutions to training and operational challenges of the NA.

When numerous divisions are committed concurrently in the field, TRADOC automatically acts as a Corps Headquarters to coordinate, direct and control operational exigencies of the divisions.

As part of its core functions, TRADOC superintends and supports military training to ensure quality and relevance, and coordinates research and development efforts of the NA corps and schools. Furthermore, it develops and evaluates doctrine, force structure and ensures the implementation of AHQ policies on training and R&D.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines.