Leadership Through Empowerment: AVM Bashir Rimi Mamman Inaugurates NAFRC Entrepreneurship Course for Middle and Senior Officers (16/2025 Batch)

The Commandant, Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Air Vice Marshal Bashir Rimi Mamman (GSS, PSC, MNIM), on Thursday, October 24, 2025, inaugurated the Middle and Senior-Level Officers’ Entrepreneurship and Management Course 16/2025 at the Centre’s Resource Complex in Oshodi, Lagos.

The course, conducted in partnership with the Empretec Nigeria Foundation, marks the fourth quarterly edition in 2025, approved by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (OFR), as part of ongoing efforts to enhance officers’ welfare and post-service preparedness.

AVM Mamman, in his inaugural address, emphasized the Nigerian Armed Forces’ resolve to equip officers with entrepreneurial, managerial, and leadership skills that foster financial independence and sustainable livelihoods beyond active service.

“Our mission is to foster an entrepreneurial mindset, develop business acumen, and build the resilience needed to thrive in today’s dynamic business environment,” the Commandant said.

“This programme is designed not only to prepare officers for life after service but also to cultivate innovation and adaptability while still in uniform.”

He revealed that the Centre has trained over 48,000 non-commissioned officers since inception, with 576 personnel currently undergoing pre-discharge training, while over 266 senior officers from the Armed Forces and sister security agencies have benefited from the entrepreneurship programme since its introduction.

The Deputy Director of Training, Navy Captain J.A. Oklobia, in her welcome address, lauded the Commandant’s visionary leadership and infrastructural transformation of the Centre.

He disclosed that 37 senior officers, 35 from the Services and 2 from the Defence Intelligence Agency are participating in Course 16/2025, while five officers from NAFRC were also sponsored by the Commandant to attend the mid-level segment, bringing the total number of participants to 42.

Oklobia noted that the course curriculum, developed in collaboration with Empretec Nigeria Foundation (a UNCTAD initiative), blends lectures, interactive workshops, and study tours aimed at developing entrepreneurial capacity and management excellence.

Planned study tours include visits to Spectra Industries Limited, the Nigerian Conservation Centre (Lekki), Commint Buka, and Songhai Farm in Port Novo, Republic of Benin.

Speaking on behalf of Her Excellency, Dr. Onari Duke, Country Representative of Empretec Nigeria Foundation, Mr. Tobe Rapu commended the partnership between NAFRC and the Foundation, describing it as “a shining example of institutional collaboration driving national human capital development.”

“This initiative empowers officers to view retirement not as an end, but as a new beginning an opportunity to create value, generate employment, and contribute to national development,” he said.

Rapu noted that the programme combines leadership development, business strategy, corporate governance, and agribusiness training, offering officers practical tools to build profitable ventures and strengthen Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

AVM Mamman appreciated the Service Chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff for their consistent support, particularly the approval for the foreign training tour to Songhai Farm.

He also expressed gratitude to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his continued leadership and investment in national capacity-building initiatives.

“Our officers already understand the fundamentals of business, and while the Armed Forces traditionally encourage involvement in agriculture, it remains one of our top priorities,” the Commandant explained. “That is why we take participants to Cotonou to observe and learn firsthand from a practical business farm, so they can gain the experience needed to develop their own agricultural ventures over time.

We expect that, upon completion of the course, participants will have acquired the necessary exposure to decide on specific business areas to pursue after retirement. Since they are still in active service, we encourage them to begin planning and raising modest funds to start small-scale ventures before disengagement. Equipment support, however, is reserved for personnel of other ranks at the point of retirement.” Mamman concluded.

“By the powers conferred on me as Commandant of NAFRC,” he declared, “I hereby inaugurate you, singly and collectively, as participants of the Middle and Senior-Level Officers’ Entrepreneurship and Management Course 16/2025. Congratulations, and I wish you fruitful deliberations.”