The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, has told military planners to come up with practical ways to tackle the rising wave of mass abductions across the country.
Shaibu delivered the message Thursday in Abuja while opening the Army War College Nigeria Wargaming Centre.
He wants the college to put wargaming and sharp strategic analysis to work on this security problem that keeps hitting communities and schools.
Mass abduction, he said, stands as one of Nigeria’s toughest and fastest-changing threats.
“One of the critical tasks I would like to leave with the college is how this wargaming can help address multiple mass abductions across our expansive forested areas. This is an evolving security challenge in Nigeria,” he said.
The army chief pointed out that the fear of kidnapping has left many parents reluctant to send their children to school, especially in rural areas. The problem demands fresh ideas that go beyond standard military tactics.
He asked the college to look at how state policing might change decision-making and response systems around the country. He also pushed for work on better coordination between security agencies so they can react faster when kidnappings occur.
“When we talk about rapid response, we must consider the assets required and how decisions are made at the strategic level. Test those options and bring forward solutions,” he said.
Shaibu said he trusts the college to produce recommendations that can actually strengthen national security. He called wargaming an important way to break down complicated operational issues and try out different plans. It lets commanders guess how enemies might respond and weigh the results of choices before any troops move.
The new Wargaming Centre, according to him, will back education, research, operational analysis, concept development, and high-level decision-making. He told the Army War College to turn the facility into a leading hub for operational and strategic wargaming in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
Earlier, the commandant of AWCN, Maj. Gen. Umar Alkali, described the centre as a big step forward for professional military education.
