The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, says skills acquisition by veterans is meant to improve the livelihoods of veterans, their families, and shield them from economic instability in retirement.
Musa said this in an address at the opening of a three-day skills acquisition training for veterans in the South-East, held at the 82 Division headquarters in Enugu on Wednesday.
Represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 82 Division, Maj. Gen. Oluyemi Olatoye, the defence chief, said that the training was a strategic initiative by the defence headquarters aimed at enhancing the well-being of military veterans.
According to him, the initiative is meant to equip the retirees of the army, navy, and air force to withstand the challenges posed by today’s increasingly difficult economic climate.
“It is important to highlight that a key challenge confronting our veterans is the significant decline in the purchasing power of their earnings. This, in turn, negatively impacts their quality of life and that of their families.
“The ongoing economic downturn, coupled with limited access to alternative income sources, creates a persistent cycle of need.
“In response to this long-standing concern and in our commitment to improving the welfare of our veterans, I have directed the Veterans Affairs Division to implement a nationwide skills acquisition training programme, tailored to each of the six geopolitical zones.
“I am pleased to see that our veterans are being actively included in our broader efforts to uplift the lives of all service personnel.
“Indeed, veterans remain vital stakeholders in our mission to improve living standards across the board,” he said.
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Musa noted that a diverse range of vocational skills, such as poultry farming, fishery, snail farming, animal husbandry, livestock management, integrated and irrigation farming systems, and modern crop farming techniques would be taught.
He said that the participants would be exposed to training on financial literacy, proper record keeping, agro-produce processing and packaging, marketing strategies, and business opportunity identification, among others.
“As someone with a personal experience in farming, I can readily appreciate the immense value this initiative and its training hold and the opportunities it presents to each participant.
“The core objective of this initiative is to equip you with the practical skills needed to establish and grow sustainable agricultural ventures within the broader value chain,” he said.
Earlier, the Director, Veteran Affairs Division at the Defence Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Danladi Salihu thanked the defence chief for his continued support and for providing logistics backing for the training.
