The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Obinna Ajunwa, on Monday, said that swimming championships had helped to physically and mentally condition and prepare troops for military operations in the riverine areas.
Ajunwa said his at the ongoing Inter-formation Platoon Combat Swimming Championship 2022 that would end on Dec. 1 at the National Stadium (conventional swimming) and Old Slave Village, Badagry (combat swimming) respectively.
Seven army Divisions: 1 Div Kaduna, 2 Div Ibadan, 3 Div Jos, 6 Div Port Harcourt, 81 Div Lagos, 82 Div Enugu and Nigerian Army Headquarters, Garrison, Abuja are participating in the event.
The GOC said that competitions of such nature were an essential part of military training, evident in the high premium the Chief Of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya attached training and professionalism as one of the key pivots of his vision.
Ajunwa said that the vision of the COAS was to have: “A professional Nigerian Army Ready To Accomplish Assigned Mission Within A Joint Environment In the Defence Of Nigeria.”
“Therefore, I will like to enjoin you all to bring out the best in you in order to achieve the objective of the championship.
“The objective is to improve fitness for combat, engender junior leadership and promote the use of initiatives as well as esprit de corps among Nigerian Army personnel.
“Additionally, it will strengthen the swimming skills of participants and also better prepare them for operations in amphibious and riverine environments,” Ajunwa said.
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The GOC said that he was convinced that new lessons would be learnt during the championship which would be used by the participants to sharpen their professional competency and skills.
Ajunwa thanked Lt.-Gen. Yahaya for the moral and financial support he provided for the swimming championship in particular as well as his top-notch leadership to the Nigerian Army in general.
Also speaking, the Commander Corps, Nigerian Army Engineers, Maj.-Gen. Kamil Kadiri said that the championship would improve the physical and mental abilities of the participants with a view to reinforcing the overall compact preparedness of the troops.
“It will also enhance their fighting efficiency and performances in the field with a view to preparing participating troops for a variety of tasks toward addressing contemporary security challenges,” he said.
Kadiri, also the Special Guest Of Honour at the event, said that the Nigerian Army and other sister agencies including security agencies were currently involved in multiple-single-service operations and combined operations.
“These operations call for the highest standard of fitness and training to combat terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, cultism, piracy and oil theft among other crimes.
“In this regard, the Nigerian Army has placed a high premium in qualitative training of its personnel across the board,” he said.
The commander said that the conventional and combat swimming events would, therefore, equip troops with the skills to conduct operations optimally, especially, in riverine and amphibious terrains.
