The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, has restated his commitment towards training the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel to meet global trends.
Abubakar stated this on Thursday at a workshop on transformational leadership in Nursing for head nurses of health facilities in the NAF and at NAF’s School of Medical Sciences and Aviation Medicine in Kaduna.
Abubakar was represented by the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Air Training Command of the NAF, AVM Musa Mukthar.
He said the training of personnel to meet global trends was part of the desire of the current NAF leadership to reposition the service into a highly professional and disciplined force.
“The Air Force, being a highly technical service, requires skilled able personnel with sound mind and good health to operate, maintain and support its array of platforms and equipment for optimum exploitation,” he said.
According to Abubakar, in achieving the objectives of repositioning NAF, the medical specialty is key to ensuring that personnel maintain healthy lifestyles to enable them carry out assigned tasks in fulfillment of the constitutional roles.
“Training and re-training of personnel across all specialties is vital towards the attainment of organisational objectives.
“With the current trend of globalisation occasioned by modern technology, NAF has made a paradigm shift towards its operations in view of numerous transformations occurring in various fields, including the medical.”
He said that medical personnel, especially Nurses, required training and re-training to meet up with modern medical trends which relates to handling of patients.
Abubakar further stated that the global security trend being experienced would require leaders who would think outside the box to proffer solutions to some of the challengse.
Abubakar stressed the need for members of the Armed Forces to continue to support the Federal Government in its policy thrust towards improving the economic, social and political development of the country.
“This can only be achieved by improving and transforming our leadership styles at all levels; the workshop
organised today is geared towards ensuring you acquire the requisite knowledge and skills as Nurses.”
He implored participants to exhibit high level of discipline, proficiency, hard work, loyalty, patience and perseverance while placing service before self which forms the core values of NAF.
He thanked the Kaduna State Ministry of Health and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria for their support and cooperation towards the improvement of nursing services and education in the NAF.
Earlier, commandant of the NAF School of Medical Sciences and Aviation Medicine, Air Commodore Glenn Nkanang, had said that a total of 65 participants reported for the programme.
He added that in the past few years, a lot had been achieved towards the full takeoff of the school which made the
Midwifery Council of Nigeria to grant provisional accreditation to it.
He thanked the CAS for establishing the school and approving the conduct of the programme, noting that he had
showed enormous interest on the school and had taken giant strides towards ensuring its success.
He also thanked the CAS for approving the payment of accreditation fees to some regulatory bodies and renovation of temporary site for the takeoff of the College Medical Sciences for the schools.
