Brief Histroy of the Nigerian Defense Academy
Brief History of THE NIGERIAN DEFENCE ACADEMY (NDA)
Sources:NDA official website and Cadet Gist
the institution responsible for Military training in Nigeria was known as the Royal Military Forces Training College (RMFTC), ran and managed by Royal military and British government.After independence in 1960, the college became known as the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC). The role of the Academy was to provide each officer cadet with knowledge, skills and values necessary to meet the requirements of a military officer through military, academic and character development. In 1964 Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) was renamed Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). The NDA is an institution where selected young able-bodied men and women are groomed into well educated, courageous, virile and erudite subalterns. The vision of the NDA is to produce officers with broad-based training in both military and academic subjects designed to serve as a foundation for the future progressive development of officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The NDA was established in 1964 and charged with the role of training military officers for the Defence need of independent Nigeria. From its establishment in 1964, the graduates of the NDA were awarded National Certificates of Education (NCE) apart from being commissioned into the officer cadre of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The examination was prepared and conducted` by the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In 1985 the academy was made to become a degree awarding institution. Apart from the regular cadet, the institution also runs Short Service and Direct Short Service for holders of Degree and Higher National Diploma from Universities and Polytechnics. In 2005 president Olusegun Obasanjo commissioned the post-graduate school which commenced its activities in the 2005/2006 academic session. The institution also recorded tremendous achievement by producing many prominent military officers in Nigeria who contributed in the maintenance of peace in the country and abroad. Moreover, some of the products of NDA wrote quite a number of text books that are being used in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The contribution of NDA was thus beyond military training but also in the intellectual arena. Despite the achievement of NDA, the institution has been facing numerous problems, Such as favouritism in the recruitment of candidates.
The military institution trains the officer corps of the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force. The initial class had only 62 cadets, and the trainers were mostly officers in the Indian Army. Brigadier M.R Verma. The NDA grew to an all Nigerian training staff only in 1978.[1]
In 1981 The Academy began training of foreign militaries. In 1985 the it commenced offering undergraduate programmes to Military Officers In Training and now also currently offers post graduate studies both for Msc and Ph.D for both military and civilian students alike. The central mission remains the training of young officer cadets in the 5 year "Regular Combatant Course" cadets are groomed in Military, Academic and Character development to instill discipline and leadership skills according to global best practices, culminating in the award of a bachelor's degree and presidential commissioning into the rank of second lieutenant for Army cadets or equivalent in the Navy and Air Force for respective cadets. Until 2011 this course used to be exclusively for males, the first set of female cadets commenced training in September 2011.
Below is the chronological list of NDA Commandants:
Brigadier M.R. Varma (1964 – 1969) (Indian national and 1st Commandant of the NDA)
Major General David Ejoor (January 1969 – January 1971) (1st Nigerian Commandant)
Major General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo (January 1971 – March 1971)
Major General Eyo Okon Ekpo (March 1971 – February 1975)
Brigadier Illiya Bisalla (February 1975 – August 1975)
Brigadier Gibson Jalo (August 1975 – January 1978)
Brigadier E.S. Armah (January 1978 – July 1978)
Brigadier Joseph Garba (July 1978 – July 1979)
Brigadier Zamani Lekwot (July 1979 – 1982)
Brigadier Abdullahi Shelleng (1982 – January 1984)
Major General Paul Tarfa (January 1984 – 1985)
Major General Peter Adomokai (1986 – 1988)
Lieutenant General Salihu Ibrahim (1988 – 1990)
Lieutenant General Garba Duba (1990 – February 1992)
Lieutenant General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau (February 1992 – January 1993)
Lieutenant General Mohammed Balarabe Haladu (January 1993 – 1994)
Air Marshal Al-Amin Daggash (1994 – June 1998)
Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi (June 1998 – 1999)
Major General Thaddeus Ashei (2000 – 2002)
Major General Okon Edet Okon (2002 – 2003)
Major General Patrick Ademu Akpa (2003 – 2004)
Lieutenant General Abel Akale (2004 – 2006)
Major General Harris Dzarma (2006 – August 2008)
Major General Mamuda Yerima (August 2008 – August 2010)
Major General Emeka Onwuamaegbu (August 2010 – December 2013)[4]
Major General Muhammad Inuwa Idris (December 2013 – August 2015)
Major General Mohammed Tasiu Ibrahim (August 2015 – October 2017)
Major General Adeniyi Oyebade (October 2017 – November 2019)
Major General Jamilu Sarham (November 2019 – March 2021)
Major General Sagir Yaro (March 2021 – April 2021)
Major General Ibrahim Manu Yusuf (April 2021 – Present)
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