The Commandant of the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Oshodi, Air Vice Marshal Nnaemeka Ignatius Ilo, on Tuesday formally inaugurated the Mid and Senior Level Officers’ Entrepreneurship and Management Course 17/2026, urging participants to begin early preparation for life after active service. The ceremony, held at the Centre’s Resource Complex, marked the commencement of the first quarterly edition of the programme for 2026.
Addressing the 40 nominated officers, Ilo described their selection as both an honour and a responsibility, stressing that the course was designed to equip them with the mindset, discipline and strategic skills required to thrive in the civilian business environment. Though not a pre-retirement programme, he noted that the training would help officers confront the initial challenges of post-service life with confidence and foresight.
The Commandant underscored the Centre’s longstanding mandate in resettlement training, revealing that over 49,000 senior non-commissioned officers had benefitted from pre-discharge programmes, with 724 participants currently undergoing Course 1/2026. According to him, many alumni now run successful small and medium-scale enterprises across the country.
He explained that the extension of entrepreneurship training to officers still in service followed the approval of the Defence Headquarters in collaboration with the Empretec Nigeria Foundation, a private-sector initiative linked to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. So far, over 312 senior officers from the Armed Forces and other security agencies have participated in the programme.
Ilo reminded participants that entrepreneurship demands more than bright ideas, noting that strategic management, adaptability, financial literacy and resilience were critical ingredients for sustainable success. Quoting former Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Baba Abubakar, he declared: “The race to success has no finish line,” adding that the officers’ journey had only just begun.
He expressed appreciation to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, the Service Chiefs and heads of defence agencies for approving the nominations, and extended gratitude to the Minister of Defence and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for sustaining institutional support for capacity-building initiatives within the Armed Forces.
In a symbolic moment, the Commandant invoked his authority to formally inaugurate the participants “singly and collectively” as members of Course 17/2026, drawing applause from senior officers and guests in attendance.
Earlier, the Director of Training, Brigadier General Isang Akpaumontia, disclosed that the Centre received 23 nominations for the Mid-Level and 17 for the Senior-Level course, drawn from Defence Headquarters, the Defence Intelligence Agency, Defence Space Administration and the three Services. He announced that the programme, previously held twice yearly, would now run quarterly to widen access and deepen impact.
Akpaumontia detailed the curriculum structure, which commenced with agricultural management and entrepreneurship modules covering crop and animal production. Participants are scheduled for strategic study tours to Spectra Industries, Agege; the Nigerian Conservation Centre, Lekki; Commint Buka, Surulere; and an international excursion to Songhai Farms in Porto-Novo, Benin Republic, initiatives jointly facilitated by NAFRC and Empretec.
In her goodwill message, delivered by Dr. Lemmy Omololu, Director at Empretec Nigeria Foundation, Dr. Mrs. Onari Duke congratulated the new Commandant and reaffirmed the foundation’s commitment to strengthening leadership and enterprise capacity among officers. She described retirement not as an end, but a new beginning capable of unlocking value creation, employment generation and national development, urging participants to embrace the course with curiosity, discipline and purpose.
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