The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, visited Katsina on 10th November 2022, to assess the progress made so far. This was barely a week after brainstorming with past and present Nigerian Air Force (NAF) operational commanders at the 2022 NAF Operations Seminar in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Air Marshal Amao advised the operational commanders working in the Northeast and Northwest to maintain their will and resolve in the face of the current onslaught against terrorist and insurgent remnants wreaking havoc, particularly in the Northern region of Nigeria.
The rendezvous gave the CAS and the field commanders the chance to examine and reassess current ongoing joint operations in order to re-strategize toward a more operationally effective NAF burdened with the quick end to the current scourge of insecurity in the nation. In doing so, however, Air Marshal Amao urged the commanders to remember the complexity and dynamism of the constantly shifting security environment while implementing the best policies necessary to support the NAF’s retention of a credible air power capability to carry out its activities.
The CAS expressed his delight and satisfaction with the current operational momentum deployed against terrorists and insurgents in the Northeast and Northwest that has resulted in the elimination of several key terrorist leaders and their cohorts in a statement released by Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, Director of Public Relations and Information Nigerian Air Force.
The Commanders and their soldiers were then praised by him for their courage, tenacity, and loyalty in these efforts. He claims that “the use of air power against terrorists and insurgents has transformed the course of the current operations in entire northern Nigeria, giving the majority of Nigerians some reprieve and faith in the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.” Although the opponent may have been vanquished, we must not become complacent. Instead, we need to keep taking the lead and setting the pace for operations. The new platforms that are anticipated to enter the NAF’s inventory in the first quarter of 2023 and thereafter would undoubtedly provide existing operations a boost, the CAS added. Then he sternly warned them to keep their attention on the task at hand, to show no mercy, and to keep the operations moving at a rapid pace.
As they carried out their constitutional duties, Air Marshal Amao further asked them to do so with professionalism and responsiveness while also taking extra precautions to protect people. “On my end, you can rely on the fact that I’ll keep making sure you have all you need to carry out the operations successfully. Please allow me to take this opportunity to reiterate the Federal Government’s commitment to your welfare and well-being,” he said.
The Chief of Training and Operations, Air Vice Marshal Aliyu Bello, the Chief of Logistics, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, the Chief of Air Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal Nkem Aguiyi, and a few directors from the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters attended the meeting with the CAS.
