Shaping the future essentially means planning to build a robust, prosperous and sustainable existence, as well as a successful development model that meets the competitive demands of life. This ensures that the concerned entity excels in various areas of development compared to its counterparts worldwide. This is what AVM Mohammed Idris , the Commandant Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, (NAFRC) Oshodi, is doing as he oversees the task of integrating military retirees into productive civil life.
Expectedly, as customary to military tradition, concern with values, dedication, discipline and leadership is key. They are comfortable with the key principles and concepts, and able to explain them clearly. Be outstanding. AVM Idris have learnt principles, concepts and combine them with moral values that make people credit him with integrity and a sense of compassion. These he deploys at NAFRC to help drive training and advancement of knowledge for retiring service personnel.
With a vision to be a world class training institution capable of repositioning not only ex servicemen but retirees of other paramilitary/security agencies and organisations in order to cope with the challenges of post service life, the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC) was established to provide military personnel with relevant vocational and entrepreneurial training, in preparation for living a productive and fulfilling life in retirement.
first established as an idea by the British Colonial Government’s as a Vocational Resettlement Centre (VRC) for the West African Frontier Force (WAFF) that fought on the side of the Allied Forces in the Second World War in 1945, the center was mandated to impact relevant skills to meet the resettlement needs of the ex-combatants of the war in Nigeria and Ghana.
However, by the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, the mandate was redefined to meet the urgent need of rehabilitating the disabled soldiers of the civil war. Thus, the centre became an army establishment and was accordingly renamed the Nigerian Army Rehabilitation Centre to rehabilitate the disabled soldiers of the Nigerian Civil War.
In the early 1980s, it became necessary to review the mandate of the centre when virtually all the disabled soldiers had been rehabilitated. Accordingly, with the introduction of the concept of Defence Headquarters, in the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre in 1982 with a renewed mandate.
On June 20 this year, 343 courses 1, 2021 soldiers were disengaged from the military after six months of training at the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Oshodi. Their disengagement brought to over 50,000 personnel equipped with vocational and entrepreneurship skills since the inception of NAFRC.
The retirees, including 26 women, comprised 266 from the Army, 71 from the Navy and seven from Air Force, while the forces lost two men.
Speaking at the graduation, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, said the concluded pre-retirement course trained retiring personnel on rudiments for successful reintegration into civilian life after meritorious service to the country and asked them to remain dedicated, disciplined as they reintegrate into the civil society.
Irabor, who was represented by the acting chief of training and operations, Defence Headquarters, Rear Admiral Okon Eyo, said their completion of the intensive training was a reflection of determination, commitment and discipline, which were attributes acquired in the course of service to the nation.
He added that the retired soldiers had been transferred from active military duty to the legion of veterans who will continue to make positive contributions to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Admonishing the officers on the challenges ahead, he said, post-service life has its peculiar challenges, which would include management of resources, especially retirement benefits, influences from friends and family members, management of both mental and physical health as well as integrating with the civil society, urging them to be proactive in conduct to avoid problems.
In his remark, NAFRC commandant, AVM Mohammed Idris, said the centre has been well-positioned to optimally deliver on its core mandate of vocational training not just for retiring personnel of the Armed Forces of Nigeria but also for all Nigerians.
Awo Okonkwo, who served in the army said: “It was a challenging moment for him. He thanked God for seeing him through another retiree, who served in the Navy, Lawal Olamiposi, said it was a tough time serving as an officer, as a wife and a mother.
She said: “Being an officer requires a lot from me, especially being able to manage my in-laws, children and home. When I am at home, I put my military self away and act like a wife and mother and when I am away I am an officer.”
Two weeks before that D-day, the Commandant had urged retiring personnel to be good ambassadors of the country as they prepare to bow out. He gave the admonition during an Interdenominational Thanksgiving Service held at the centre in Oshodi, Lagos on June 11th , as part of event to commemorate their graduation for the six months skill acquisition at the centre.
The Commandant who was represented by the Director of Logistics, Commodore Ignatius Iliya, urged the retiring personnel to be loyal to the institution and the country by bringing their experiences to bare for the advantage of their fatherland.
He said: “ The Commandant is quite happy that we have started this training about six months ago and we have the opportunity of joining the graduands to appreciate God in this interdenominational church service, as part of the graduation ceremony.
“The Commandant has admonished those that are leaving very soon and wishes them the very best in their endeavors after they depart from service on Friday. He also wants them to bring to bear those skills: be they practical, theoretical and all they have been taught ,whenever they leave the force,” he said.
He advised members of the public to accept the retiring personnel as they reintegrate into the society, having been away in the course of their service in the Armed Forces.
He explained that with such collaboration, the retiring men would assist in providing information that would foster peace and security in the country.
On his part, the Director of Coordination, Commodore Adesoji Babalola, disclosed that 344 trainees comprising those from the Nigerian Army, Navy and Airforce were taken through 41 skills within the last six months.
The training according to him, would go a long way to creating a means of survival for them after retirement.
In his sermon , the Chaplain, NAFRC Protestant Church, Flying Officer, Reverend John Moses, charged the retiring personnel to be truthful and avoid being used to bridge peace and unity of the country, admonishing that smoking and engaging in money doubling should be avoided.
For the men and officers undergoing training there, it is new dawn of transitioning into civil life after their 35 years sojourn into the military. For 35 years, they have gone through series of military trainings to ensure they turned out to be professional soldiers in their various units and fields. In those years, their entire process are wired in a military pattern, which is often with precision, regimentation, dedication to duty and discipline.
Throughout those years, they recite the soldiers creed, and are dedicated to the actualisation of the Armed Forces core responsibilities whatever the cost or odds. However, after 35 years, it is time to de-brief them. Their thinking process is made to go back to the civilian life they were used to before their sojourn into military life.
Thus to ensure a smooth and seamless transition back to civil life, NAFRC was created. At the centre located at Oshodi, Lagos, the retirees undergo six months training and re-training to ease their transition. They are also equipped with relevant civilian skills that would ensure they are kept busy.
Here, they are equipped with relevant trades and vocational skills. For the fashion wing, courses like shoemaking, barbing, tailoring, laundry and weaving are taught. The fine arts and printing training courses also exist. These include the likes of fine arts, ceramics making, photography and printing as its core base. There is also soap and cosmetics department with courses like soap and cosmetics making and domestic products. Then the agricultural section has general agric/food/cash crop, poultry, piggery, fishery, rabbitary, ruminants and snailery.
To make beneficiaries if the training able to benefit from opportunities in the real estate sector, there are the woodwork section and the building and civil works section. The woodwork section boasts of carpentry and joinery, furniture design and construction, as well as the machined woodwork, while the building and civil works section has bricklaying and concreting, plumbing and pipe lifting, painting and spraying.
For the electrical and electronics section, courses like refrigeration and air conditioning, electrical installation and maintenance practice, as well as radio and television. The auto mechanics wing boasts of mechanical engineering, battery charging, vulcanising and car wash.
Other departments like fabrication and welding have the fabrication, welding, machining and fitting, as well as foundry, while the music department deals with instrument learning and entertainment, even as the food and beverages department deals with bakery and the information technology department takes care of computer appreciation, hardware maintenance, networking and internet, as well as systems development and design.
Given the important role the centre is saddled with it, it is therefore expected that consistency in providing quality training, geared towards preparing the retirees to face the challenges of re-integrating into civil life, is sacrosanct.
And the Commandant Air Vice Marshal Adamu Idris has been ensuring this. AVM Mohammed Idris was appointed the Commandant Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, (NAFRC) Oshodi in May this year.
Until his appointment, AVM Mohammed Idris was COPP, HQ NAF. he had also been the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Tactical Air Command (TAC) of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Mohammed Idris on Friday, 14 July 2017 .He took charge at the Headquarters in Makurdi, from AVM Nurudeen Balogun Before that appointment as the AOC TAC, AVM Idris was the Director of Training at the NAF Headquarters.
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