Defence Minister Pledges to Support Vision of Making NMS Incubator of Nigeria’s Defence Technology Talent

Minister of Defence, Alh. Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has assured that he would provide every necessary support to ensure that the Nigerian Military School, Zaria continues to maintain its standard and the role it has been playing for the Nigerian Armed Forces and the nation since 1954.
Speaking during a courtesy call by the leadership of the NMS Ex-Boys Association at his office, the minister remarked that, “the school has had a very good history, and we will not allow the quality to drop. It has been a pillar to the Armed Forces and by extension, the security of the nation.”
The delegation led by the National President, Dr. Sunday Ngegu had visited the minister to advocate for support in exploring the possibilities of expanding the school’s focus to being an incubator for identifying and building young talents who will grow to become assets in the fields of modern defence such as robotics, automation, cyber security and Artificial Intelligence.
“We believe that just as the evolutions of Nigeria’s needs in the 60s led to a shift in the focus of NMS, the technological realities of modern defence and national security places a new need for an evolution in the focus of NMS and its role in the technological advancement of Nigeria’s defence imperatives,” Ngegu said.
“In line with the 4th Mandate of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) which is to enhance the capabilities and sophistication of the country’s defence industries, in order to reduce the country’s independence on foreign sources of supply, we believe that the Nigerian Military School can be reinvigorated into becoming an effective STEM incubator for identification and nurturing of young talent that will mature into a generation of globally competitive military manpower that are equipped for the needs of modern national defence.
“This will require an expansion of the NMS curriculum and infrastructure to include foundational pathways into new military capabilities such as in cyber systems and warfare, automation, robotics, renewable energy and Artificial Intelligence that will provide technological assets to the Nigerian military and transform our national defence capabilities for the next century,” he added.
Other requests presented included the intervention in converting long-serving temporary staff into Ministry of Defence staff positions, thereby improving welfare and motivation, upgrading of classrooms with advanced furniture and teaching facilities to meet the demands of modern teaching as well as the installation of solar power to help the school cope with the instability of power from the grid.
The Minister assured the delegation that he would engage the service chiefs and all relevant stakeholders to ensure the requests are attended to both in terms of budgetary allocations and policy development.
“All the requests are genuine and are needed. I will do everything possible to help. Count on me. I will put in my best,” he said.