The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) on Thursday matriculated 453 cadets of its 75 regular course in Kaduna.
The event which was the 10th matriculation of the institution featured an oat taking by the cadets to mark their formal induction into their respective academic programmes.
Prof. Shehu Abdullahi, the Special Guest of Honour and a former Academy Provost, NDA, urged the cadets to take their academics and military training seriously as they were complementary to each other.
“It is interesting to note that cadets who excel in academics invariably excel in military training, hence the need to embrace the two line of training with all seriousness,” he said.
Abdullahi said that the 21st-century warfare and military imperatives required innovative and creative minds founded on intellectual and technical skills.
“Today officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria are graduates. It is remarkable that the force now recognise the value of university education,” he said.
He urged the cadets to be focused, disciplined, hardworking, patient, persevere and determined, saying that the temptation to abandon their training was always high at the first year as they grappled with a new environment.
Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Yusuf, the Commandant, NDA, said that the cadets had already commenced their military training based on a revised curriculum designed to equip them with the knowledge and skills to deal with the emerging threats confronting the country.
“In the past eight weeks, the cadets have undergone rigorous military training designed to condition them to be mentally sound and physically fit to participate in a tough regime of military training and academic education.
“They also met the basic physical fitness requirements of completing 30 push-ups in one minute, 40 sit-ups in the same period and running up to 6.4km in 35 minutes,” he said.
Yusuf noted that the cadets would undergo five-year training with the academic programme culminating at the end of the fourth year.
According to Yusuf, the academic scope of the academy had been expanded to accommodate new faculties, departments, programmes and packages believed to be pertinent in the development of the armed forces.
He warned all cadets against indiscipline, examination malpractice and brutality.